Millions of Chinese honeybees: Visiting a deep-mountain beekeeping base in Qingdao, Shandong

Xu Qing is inspecting beehives

Staff members show a honeycomb

A few days ago, the "First Training Class on Chinese Honeybee Beekeeping in Laoshan District" officially began at Beijian Community in Beizhai Subdistrict. Li Jiuzhou, a leading figure in China's beekeeping circles, traveled specially from Xi'an to Qingdao to teach beekeeping farmers in Laoshan District. The farmers attending the training class pay nothing for either the course or room and board. According to the head of the Laoshan District Agriculture and Forestry Bureau, the person driving this "poverty alleviation" project is named Xu Qing, whose aim is to lead farmer friends in contributing to the survival of the "Chinese honeybee" species while also escaping poverty and becoming prosperous through beekeeping.

It is understood that with the arrival of the "Italian bee," the "Chinese honeybee" species has come under serious threat. Xu Qing began researching Chinese honeybee keeping more than 10 years ago, and having started from zero, he was stung by bees countless times.

After years of struggle and experience, Xu Qing's Qingdao Research Base for Chinese Honeybees was recently established in Beijian Community, Beizhai Subdistrict. In order to get more people involved in defending the "Chinese honeybee," Xu Qing decided to keep Chinese honeybees at the base while also teaching professional knowledge to nearby beekeeping farmers free of charge.

According to Xu Qing, the base's primary task is to protect the Chinese honeybee species, followed by scientifically keeping Chinese honeybees and providing pure natural honey products to consumers in Qingdao and even across the country. Through his efforts, Xu Qing established three major beekeeping bases in Qingdao, Shangri-La and Baoji, each keeping millions of Chinese honeybees and producing dozens of tons of honey annually.

As for the future, Xu Qing said this: "We must let the Chinese honeybee species continue to reproduce, let more farmers escape poverty and become prosperous through beekeeping, and let more ordinary people enjoy safe, pure natural honey products."