County sets example for economic transformation

A large wormwood planting field in Dong'e county. [Photo by Li Aiming/for chinadaily.com.cn]

In early summer at the Aishan Mountain scenic area in Dong'e county, Liaocheng, Shandong province, Yang Maoxiu, a local farmer, is busy fertilizing and weeding wormwood.

Aishan Mountain has a long history of wormwood cultivation, and Aishan village has developed contiguous wormwood cultivation covering over an area of 26.67 hectares.

Aishan village has built a moxibustion experience hall and a wormwood storage and processing workshop according to local conditions, carried out integrated operations of "planting, production, processing and sales" of wormwood and achieved the goal of increasing the income of over 300 villagers by 10,000 yuan ($1,378.26) per year with the popularity of wormwood-related products in the health industry.

"Our village is based on the handcrafted production of wormwood sachets, pillows, quilts and other products. We continuously extend the industrial chain, hoping to promote our advantageous industries around the country and sell our wormwood products nationwide," said Yang Jidao, Party secretary of the Aishan branch in Tongcheng subdistrict, Dong'e county.

A good wormwood industry requires sufficient sales channels. Aishan village is currently expanding its sales channels by adopting the "e-commerce plus wormwood" model and embracing the trend of digital agriculture.

In Dong'e county, many rural families are bringing in more income while working close to home. In Xiaodian village, Yushan town, melon farmers are busy harvesting and packaging watermelons in high-standard vegetable greenhouses. The watermelons here are cultivated using techniques such as vine hanging cultivation, artificial pollination, and sub-membrane drip irrigation. (Edited by Yang Yi)