Golden plums bring new opportunities in Qingzhen

The golden plum is a large, tasty, sugary fruit with high yield. [Photo/Guiyang news network] 

Liao Hailong, a 40-year-old golden plum grower in Hexi village, Qingzhen county in Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou province, used to be a migrant worker, traveling outside his hometown to earn a living. But life was tough without a home or family around. So he decided to return to his village and started growing golden plums in 2016. 

"I have made the decision to grow golden plums for scientific reasons. The altitude of the village is more than 1,200 meters, and the soil and sunlight are very suitable for growing golden plums. People in the village have let me use their idle land. The village is also conveniently located, since the entrance and exit of a local expressway are located here," said Liao.

With assistance from other villagers and support from the government, Liao has managed to grow thousands of plum trees with an investment of 2 million yuan ($300,000). 

The golden plum business continued to expand, not only putting food on the table for Liao's family, but also bringing job opportunities to other villagers. Liao has hired more than 10 villagers to take care of the plum orchard he owns, and pays them a total of over 300,000 yuan annually. 

Unlike other farmers, who frequently use pesticides on trees, Liao insists that his plums are grown in an ecofriendly way. His dream is to improve the village's farming industry through his business, and bring more young migrant workers home by providing them with job opportunities. 

In fact, Liao profits not just by selling plums, but also by inviting tourists to his orchard to appreciate the captivating scenery when harvest season arrives. 

Instead of spraying pesticides over immature plums, workers bag them up to prevent them from harm by birds, insects, or heavy rain. [Photo/Guiyang news network]