Hatao Village in Fuxin, Liaoning Gets Rich by Growing "Immortal Peaches"

Big, red nectarines crowd one against another, pressing so tightly that they bend the branches. The bumper harvest scene in the greenhouses of Hatao Village, Shala Town, Fumeng County, Liaoning Province, drew rounds of admiration from visitors who came to pick the fruit.

Hatao Village is one of 197 poverty-stricken villages in Fuxin City. In recent years, through vigorous development of the nectarine industry, the villagers' lives have gradually flourished.

Standing in the double-film connected greenhouse of village Party secretary Qi Lin, one feels as if entering a huge workshop, with three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles able to drive right in. This largest single greenhouse in Fuxin City is 300 m long, 115 m wide at its widest point, covers 3.3 hectares, and holds more than 8,500 nectarine trees - truly a lush botanical garden. Qi Lin explained: "This kind of greenhouse has good insulation and a high land utilization rate, saving 2/3 of land resources."

Zhao Zhonghe, a technician Qi Lin hired from Yingkou, was busy working in the field. He said: "Fuxin's soil and sunlight are very suitable for nectarine growth, and nectarines are relatively easy to manage - villagers can master it after learning for a while."

The enthusiastic Qi Lin picked a bright red nectarine for the reporter. This kind of nectarine was sweeter than any the reporter had eaten before. Seeing the reporter's puzzlement, Qi Lin revealed two secrets: first, Fuxin has a large temperature difference between day and night, so the nectarines are full of sugar; second, this is a new variety, "You 28," which tastes sweeter than traditional varieties.

Hatao Village's choice of nectarines reflects the villagers' spirit of persevering through repeated failures. In the past, villagers grew muskmelons, but failed. Experts concluded that Hatao Village's soil was unsuitable. Later, villagers successively grew eggplant, tomatoes, green beans and so on, but each household grew something different, so no scale was formed, and after a year of hard work the villagers could not earn much money. In 2010, Qi Lin encountered nectarines for the first time in Yingkou and trial-planted two greenhouses on his own land. The next year, although the yield was not large, the price was good, and each greenhouse earned a net profit of 15,000 yuan. After entering the full fruit-bearing period, one greenhouse can bring in 30,000 yuan.

Driven by Qi Lin, the villagers also began to grow nectarines. Today, the whole village has developed 20 hectares of nectarines. Every nectarine tree has become a veritable "green bank," with returns dozens of times higher than growing corn in the past. Villager Bai Chunming said: "In our eyes, nectarines are immortal peaches!" Some impoverished households also became rich by growing nectarines. Impoverished household Qi Zhantian, who supports two children in school, had a difficult family situation. Now he and his wife both work in Qi Lin's greenhouse, and besides earning money, they have also learned many skills from Zhao Zhonghe, planning to build a greenhouse of their own in the future.

Perhaps by coincidence, the name Hatao Village itself has a connection with peaches. Last year, Hatao Village began agritourism fruit picking, and the once isolated village became lively. The villagers dream that one day this place will become a far-famous "Immortal Peach Village." (Fuxin Daily)