From 'orange capital' to 'vegetable capital'
Jiangxi province's city of Ganzhou, which has been supplying Hong Kong with fresh water for the past few decades, has now taken the lead in selling fresh, quality vegetables to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, giving a boost to the province's farming industry. Shadow Li reports from S
Challenges await
Leading to the center's multistory complex is a new concrete road, as well as rows of greenhouses covered in plastic, in which round-shaped eggplants larger than an adult's hand are planted. This kind of eggplant can weigh up to 2.5 kilograms and is known for its delicate and crunchy flavor. A small yellow pumpkin called beibei is also among the most popular products sold to several neighboring counties.
Currently, more than 60 percent of the vegetables, mostly chile peppers, bitter melons, green beans and cucumbers, are grown in the greenhouses and transported to the Greater Bay Area.
Lai said the flourishing vegetable industry has lifted many people out of poverty. The Xinfeng branch of the National Vegetable Quality Standards Center alone has rented land from 538 households in the village, with each of them getting about 2,000 yuan in rental income annually.
