Hechi's Tianhe town develops fruit industry to boost rural vitalization

The topography of Tianhe town, located in the southwestern part of Luocheng Mulam autonomous county, comprises a typical karst landform with a cultivated area of 22,000 mu (1,467 hectares) for planting fruit and other crops. To promote rural vitalization, the town is now focusing on developing fruit industries with local characteristics.

At present, 3,500 mu of fruit such as peaches and watermelons have been planted in the town, yielding an annual output value in excess of 50 million yuan ($7 million).

Tianhe town has a long history of cultivating fruit and has gained a strong reputation for this in Luocheng. Relying on its unique geographical advantages, it has made  fruit production its leading industry.

Since 2022, its 15 villages and communities have been divided into two batches to develop various fruit industries. In the process, it has created three demonstration orchards for plums, loquats, and peaches, respectively, and improved 17 varieties of local fruit including plums, oranges, and watermelons.

The town has also developed festival brands to boost the integrated development of the agriculture, cultural, and tourism industries. The Peach Blossom Festival in Shangchao village and Plum Blossom Festival in Xiangyang village are now widely recognized and acclaimed.

Moreover, Beihua village's Tianhe Valley Pastoral Complex project is intensifying its construction. In 2022, Tianhe received approximately 60,000 tourists and had an annual income of over 1.2 million yuan.

So far this year, Tiange has newly planted 41,500 high-quality fruit. It also plans to build more storage and cold chain logistics facilities, so that the capacity of fruit cold storage will soon surpass 5,000 metric tons.

It is expected that by 2025, the fruit planting area of the entire town will reach over 15,000 mu, forming a comprehensive industrial chain.

Tourists pick peaches in Tianhe town. [Photo/Hechi Daily]