Jiang Donghai: Xishuangbanna's Young "Banana King"

Jiang Donghai shows reporters the bananas that are about to ripen.

Jiang Donghai, a native of Hechuan, was born in the 1980s. He holds his own in Yunnan, running a large banana plantation of more than 3000 mu, with products sold far and wide across the country.

Reflection: I am a typical Chongqing boy, daring to venture and fight, not afraid of losing.

In beautiful Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan, there is a young Chongqing native who single-handedly manages a large banana plantation of more than 3000 mu.

He is Jiang Donghai, a native of Hechuan, 29 years old this year.

Not long ago, this general manager of Yunnan Xishuangbanna Dongting Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., the locally famous "Banana King," gave an interview to reporters in the banana grove.

Difficult Days Working in Foshan

Overtime was routine, especially during the peak sales season, when his daily working hours often exceeded 15 hours.

Driving from the center of Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, along the city road for about 5 km, we got onto the expressway to Puzhehei. City buildings gradually disappeared from view, and fields came into sight one after another.

Before long, a vast banana grove appeared ahead of us, with tens of thousands of banana trees swaying in the wind. This was Jiang Donghai's banana plantation.

As soon as the reporter got out of the car, we met this young "Banana King." While guiding the reporter around the banana plantation, he began talking about his years of working and starting a business.

Jiang Donghai was born in a rural area of Hechuan. "The world is so big, I want to go see it." After finishing high school locally in 2006, with this idea in mind, he carried only 500 yuan in cash and went alone to Foshan, Guangdong, to begin his journey of chasing dreams.

At a small electrical appliance factory in Foshan, he found a job in product quality control, with a monthly salary of less than 1000 yuan. But because he was steady and hardworking, a year later he was promoted to department supervisor, and his monthly salary rose to 3000 yuan.

Working away from home was not easy. "Overtime was routine." Jiang Donghai told reporters that especially during the peak sales season, his daily working hours often exceeded 15 hours.

As time went on, the idea of "starting his own business" became stronger and stronger in his heart. At the end of 2007, Jiang Donghai resigned and returned to Chongqing.

Going Far to Yunnan to Grow Bananas

After several weeks, he was so sunburned that his skin peeled, and he repeatedly sighed: being a banana plantation owner is really not easy.

In early 2008, Jiang Donghai went with his family to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, to develop large-scale banana cultivation. "Xishuangbanna's climate, terrain and soil are all relatively suitable for banana growth." he said.

Everything started from zero.

Because he knew nothing about banana cultivation and care techniques, when he first arrived in Xishuangbanna, Jiang Donghai did odd jobs in the family banana plantation: weeding, planting seedlings, irrigation, fertilizing, and patrolling the orchard. He did everything, leaving early and returning late every day.

After several weeks, he was so sunburned that his skin peeled, and he repeatedly sighed: "Being a banana plantation owner is really not easy."

Hard work always pays off. After a year, a banana plantation of more than 200 mu had taken shape. Jiang Donghai was very pleased.

Before long, he "took over" the entire banana plantation and began to take full charge of operations and management, product sales, and other affairs.

Jiang Donghai valued the use of the latest cultivation techniques, and he was also especially able to endure hardship, going into the banana grove to inspect it almost every day. For a 200-mu banana plantation, one inspection took at least half a day.

"Gradually, I developed a pair of 'sharp eyes' and could identify all kinds of pests and diseases at a glance. Like leaf-rolling worms, thrips, diamondback moths and so on, once they appear, they must be dealt with promptly..." When Jiang Donghai talked about his experience in growing bananas, he spoke without pause.

He explained, "Banana bunches are most suitable to cut when they are 70 percent ripe. Cut too early, the color is poor and the appearance is not good; cut too late, they are overripe, which is not good for transportation and storage."

The products are sold to the hometown market... After one trip, he established close ties with many merchants at the Panxi Fruit Wholesale Market, opened up sales channels, and got out of trouble. "To develop large-scale banana cultivation, you must also pay close attention to the market." Jiang Donghai said.

In early 2010, major banana-producing areas such as Guangxi and Hainan had a bumper harvest, which suddenly left Yunnan bananas, previously never a worry to sell, in the awkward position of being "ignored by buyers." Jiang Donghai was caught off guard and faced huge losses.

He was overwhelmed, and called a friend in Chongqing to pour out his troubles. Unexpectedly, it was this one phone call that solved the urgent problem.

"You can ship the bananas to the Panxi Fruit Wholesale Market to sell!" the friend reminded him.

Jiang Donghai woke up as if from a dream and immediately rented a truck, transporting more than 20 tons of bananas overnight to the Panxi market. In less than two days, this batch of bananas sold out.

After this trip, Jiang Donghai also established close ties with many merchants doing banana wholesale business at Panxi, opened up sales channels, and got out of trouble.

"The fruit wholesale market in my hometown Chongqing is bustling. From then on, a considerable proportion of my products have been shipped here every year." he said.

Young Jiang Donghai also has a strong interest in e-commerce platforms. He repeatedly said that he wants to make good use of the Internet as a brand-new sales channel and become a "banana e-commerce seller" of the new era.

In fact, he has already begun trying in this area, such as installing cameras and other facilities, irregularly transmitting information about banana growth, care and other aspects to customers through the Internet, and at the same time starting to build his own official website to comprehensively promote his banana plantation.

An Inseparable Hometown Attachment "Hechuan's peach slices, meat slices, and that fresh, fragrant, numbing and spicy hot pot, I often think of them and my mouth waters"

In recent years, Jiang Donghai has continuously expanded production, and the banana plantation area quickly reached more than 3000 mu, ranking among the top in all of Xishuangbanna in scale, with products sold far and wide across the country and annual sales revenue of more than 30 million yuan.

This young man also naturally became the locally recognized "Banana King."

Last April, a large restaurant he invested in in the urban area of Hechuan officially opened. This restaurant can seat nearly 1000 guests at the same time and created nearly 100 jobs for the local area.

Jiang Donghai told reporters that, being in a foreign land, he often misses home and all kinds of hometown foods: "Hechuan's peach slices, meat slices, and that fresh, fragrant, numbing and spicy hot pot, I often think of them and my mouth waters. Every time my family comes to Yunnan, I always ask them to bring as many Chongqing specialties as possible..."

When his parents are at home, they also tell him by phone and WeChat about all kinds of changes in their hometown.

And Jiang Donghai can never resist the "temptation," so whenever he has time, he always likes to fly back to Chongqing for a trip, gathering with relatives and friends to eat hot pot and have late-night beer.