Looking at Xinjiang Along Rivers and Lakes: Shanghai's Aid to Xinjiang Helps the Gobi Desert Fly Out the "Golden Phoenix"

When it comes to good apples in Xinjiang, people always think of Aksu's rock sugar heart first. What many people don't know is that in Zepu County of Kashgar, over 40000 acres of apple trees are planted in the county, and the quality of the fruits produced is not inferior to rock sugar hearts.

In Zepu, the forestry and fruit industry is an important pillar industry, with 540000 acres of agricultural land, accounting for more than half of the per capita income in the county. Especially red dates, walnuts, and apples are known as the "Three Treasures of Zepu". Locals describe that the fruits can smell the smell of sunlight. However, the development of local forestry and fruit industry has always faced the dilemma of lacking brands and low added value.

In the past two years, Zepu has created the public area brand "Jinfeng Zepu" and established a dedicated company responsible for sales and promotion. Shanghai provides targeted support for the industrial development of Zepu County. In response to the problem of low brand value and unsold prices of Zepu apples, aid officials in Xinjiang hold various promotion activities to continuously enhance the brand value of "Golden Phoenix Zepu".

Some apple trees have opened their branches and corners, and have already begun to bear fruit.

In January last year, with the participation of Shanghai's aid funds to Xinjiang, a modern and prosperous industrial park was built on the barren Gobi Desert, which used to be barren, through land leveling, ditch replacement, and laying drip irrigation pipes. The industrial park has selected excellent new apple varieties such as Ruixue, Qincui, and Venus Gold, and innovated the planting mode of stunted and dense planting without brackets. This not only facilitates management, has good ventilation and light transmission, good fruit coloring, high sugar content, and strong flavor, but also has high yield, fast yield, and good economic benefits. "Planting in the first year and fruiting in the second year. Currently, the survival rate of apple trees has reached over 98%. It is expected that the predicted yield per acre will be around 500 kilograms in the third year." said Maimaiti Yiming Yulivas, Deputy General Manager of Jinhu Yangtu Poverty Alleviation and Development Co., Ltd. in Zepu County.

Fruit trees are planted on the Gobi Desert, and water use is the most pressing issue. This industrial park uses integrated drip irrigation technology with water and fertilizer. Aihemaiti Aihaiti, Secretary of the Party Group and Deputy Director of the Water Conservancy Bureau of Zepu County, calculated an account for the reporter: "Previously, the irrigation method of flood irrigation was used, with about 800 cubic meters of water used per mu of land. The fresh fruit base conducts 19 drip irrigation times a year, and flood irrigation twice in spring and winter, with about 450 cubic meters of water used per mu of land, which is about half of the previous method. In addition, Zepu County has further strengthened water-saving measures such as agricultural irrigation through the backbone projects of irrigation areas and the construction of field water-saving projects. It is expected that by 2023, an additional 10.33 million cubic meters of water can be saved, and the remaining water can be used for the development of characteristic fresh fruit industry and ecological replenishment.".

It is not easy to grow apples on the Gobi Desert, although apples have not yet been launched and sales expansion has already begun ahead of schedule. This year, under the guidance of Shanghai aid officials, Zepu Apple has made three appearances at various exhibitions and sales events held in Shanghai. "The head of the first new domestic retailer, Chaohe Ma Fresh, visited the Zepu County Characteristic Modern Rich People Industrial Park twice for inspection, and has signed a three-year strategic framework agreement with our company. Major supermarkets in Shanghai are also willing to pave the way for the sales of high-end apples in Zepu County and jointly promote the 'Golden Phoenix Zepu' regional brand." Zhang Guojun, the head of the Zepu County Characteristic Modern Rich People Industrial Park, said.

"We went to the exhibition, and when Shanghai citizens saw that Zepu apples were beautiful and sweet to eat, they immediately asked, 'Is there a link? How can I buy them online?'" said Zhang Youwei, a Shanghai aid officer in Xinjiang. In order to meet the purchase demand of the Shanghai market, in addition to offline connection with large supermarkets, Zepu's Apple sales also cooperated with the anchor of the short video platform talent, and further improved the popularity of Zepu's Apple through the way of live broadcast with goods. The online sales channels such as the "Golden Phoenix Zepu" brand sales official website, applet, and official account are also being built synchronously.

To alleviate the stimulation of adverse external environments, some apples have been bagged.

In addition to growing good apples, the industry chain related to apples is gradually being connected. Zepu also grows 3500 acres of organic apples, which have been certified as organic agricultural products by the European Union and the United States, and have obtained national geographical indication certification trademarks. But to promote this portion of apples to the market as organic apples, it is not only necessary to obtain organic certification for planting, sorting, warehousing, transportation, etc., but also to meet organic standards. "We are working hard to connect various links and achieve an organic whole process. After organic apples are introduced to the market, their value can be greatly improved." Zhang Youwei introduced.

"We have made it clear during the negotiation and discussion with the local authorities that 80% of the profits from the increase in brand value of agricultural products should be feedback to our farmers," said Zhang Youwei. At present, the fresh fruit base has been completed in two phases, with a total of 10000 acres of apple orchard. The fixed assets and biological assets such as fruit trees in the industrial park have been quantified and allocated to 42 economically weak villages. While strengthening the collective economy of the villages, the first step is to attract farmers to work and increase their income in the industrial park, solving the problem of stable employment for more than 200 farmers. During the busy farming season in spring, the temporary employment in the industrial park reached 4000 people. After mastering management skills, local farmers can also contract their own orchards as owners. As the reputation of "Golden Phoenix Zepu" becomes more prominent, the purchase price of apples in farmers' orchards will increase, and apples will truly become the fruit of local prosperity.