Apple harvest brings joy and prosperity to people

A farmer picks ripe and red apples. [Photo by Niu Hao for chinadaily.com.cn]

The apple picking orchard in the Cuizhuang community of Dingtao district, Heze city, in Shandong province recently welcomed a bumper harvest that has drawn hordes of tourists.

To boost the income of residents within its jurisdiction, the Binhe street Cuizhuang community had a few years ago adopted the "party branch + cooperative + farmers" model and established the Cuizhuang community Zhenhan cooperative. 

This model has since seen 150 mu (10 hectares) of land leased to farmers, who have planted Fuji apples, Jufeng peaches, Qiuyue pears, muskmelons and other kinds of agricultural produce. This has in turn driven economic development, increased the incomes of farmers and helped with rural revitalization efforts. (Edited by Huang Junyao)