CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Thursday, January 14, 2021 | 5 CHINA Planting fruit helps Healthy after 100 days Late report bring prosperity to of mine Aksu in Xinjiang blast leads By MAO WEIHUA in Urumqi for orchards or fruit companies to discipline and CHEN MEILING regardless of their age, as long as they’re healthy, willing and able to By ZHAO RUIXUE in Jinan Saypidin Yasin said planting and work, said Yang Xiaoyan, an offi- [email protected] selling walnuts has changed his cial of Baicheng’s agriculture and life in the Xinjiang Uygur autono- rural affairs bureau. Those responsible for the late mous region. “For example, 90 percent of the reporting of an explosion at a gold He used to take odd jobs to sup- workers at our potato starch facto- mine under construction in eastern port his family of four in Yalhuz ry are from poor families,” Yang China have been placed under con- Terak village, Aksu prefecture. said. trol, according to a news confer- Despite working hard, his annual “Our fruit business is expand- ence on Wednesday, as rescue income was about 10,000 yuan ing, and the white apricots and teams were racing to save workers ($1,544) — hardly enough to cover grapes are well enjoyed by cus- trapped underground. expenses. tomers. With further development The blast occurred at 2 pm on He learned that many of his of the business, more jobs will be Sunday at the Hushan mine in Qi- neighbors had made big money by created.” xia, under the administration of planting walnuts, and he decided In the past, farmers mainly Yantai city in Shandong province. to give it a try. planted fruit based on their own But it was not until 8 pm the next In 2015, he planted 0.3 hectares knowledge, so production and day — 30 hours later — that it was of walnuts, which yielded 900 kilo- quality were not stable. reported to Qixia’s emergency grams of the crop in 2019. He said Authorities said the local gov- department. the business increased his family’s ernment encourages agricultural Those responsible for the report- income by 15,000 yuan and lifted technology training and promotes Zoo workers hold two South China tiger cubs as they celebrate the cats’ 100th day of life at Wangcheng ing delay are “enemies of the peo- them out of poverty. standardized production among Park Zoo in Luoyang, Henan province, on Tuesday. The two male cubs increased their weight from ple”, Li Bo, vice-mayor of Yantai city, Walnuts, apples and red dates farmers to guarantee product 1 kilogram at birth to around 7 kg currently under the care of animal workers. The zoo hosts 50 South reiterated at the conference. are Aksu’s most famous agricultur- quality and sales. China tigers, the nation’s largest group of the cats. The South China tiger is one of the world’s most al products. For decades, the fruit Abduwali Abdurahman, who endangered species. ZHANG GUANGHUI / FOR CHINA DAILY and nuts have been sold world- has planted walnuts for seven 600 wide and have brought wealth to years at Yuka Kelangan village in meters the local people. Aksu, said that from time to time The distance from the mine A major fruit production center the local government sends techni- opening to where the workers in China, Aksu features fertile soil, cians to organize training classes are trapped in a gold mine long days of sunlight and large on farmlands. accident in Yantai, Shandong temperature differences between After learning professional Ministry touts plan to province, on Sunday. day and night, which helps fruit skills, production in his farmland accumulate sugar and nutritious has largely increased, and his elements and gives it a sweeter, incomes from selling walnuts Machines are working around more pleasant taste. grew from 17,000 yuan in 2019 to the clock drilling holes to help res- about 30,000 yuan last year, he cue teams reach the 22 trapped said. improve infrastructure workers. “Thanks to the business, we Some holes will be used to pro- have bought a car and renovated Efforts to target roads, housing, water for rural development and will car- vide fresh air, necessities and com- our house,” he said. ry them out as soon as possible,” he munication signals, and one will be As a remote northwestern pre- supplies and more in nation’s rural areas said. widened to 71 centimeters in diam- fecture far from inland cities, it An important part of the plan is eter to bring those trapped up to takes a long time for Aksu farmers By WANG XIAODONG to improve basic infrastructure the ground, Li said. to transport fruit, which affects the [email protected] 83 covering water, electrical and natu- The blast trapped the workers taste. percent ral gas supply, roads, housing and more than 600 meters from the The local government has Infrastructure improvement will of residents in rural areas now telecommunications. In addition, mine opening, according to the res- Rahman Abdullah harvests worked to expand logistics and gather momentum over the next have access to tap water. high-tech infrastructure such as 5G cue team. white apricots in Tohqi village selling channels for farmers to few years as part of national efforts and internet of things will be Due to damage to the communi- of Kuqa, Aksu prefecture of the explore larger markets. to rejuvenate and modernize Chi- extended to rural areas to promote cation system caused by the blast, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous In October, Xianfeng Fruit, a na’s rural areas, the Ministry of The strategy, put forward by the a comparable basic infrastructure rescuers have so far been unable to region, in June. MAO WEIHUA / company based in Hangzhou, Zhe- Agriculture and Rural Affairs said top leadership in October 2017, for residents between rural and contact them. CHINA DAILY jiang province, signed a 3-year, on Wednesday. aimed at essentially modernizing urban areas, Zeng said. The biggest difficulty for rescu- 1-billion-yuan agreement with the China will improve basic infra- China’s agriculture and rural areas Key efforts over the next few ers is clearing obstacles and repair- Aksu government to purchase its structure including roads, water by 2035, and achieving all-around years will also include upgrading ing the shaft, which was severely The fruit forest area in Aksu agricultural products. Fruit from supplies, upgrading of electrical prosperity in rural areas by 2050. toilets in central and western Chi- damaged by the blast, rescue grew to around 300,000 hectares Aksu will be sold in over 1,000 of networks, logistics and housing, Zeng Yande, chief for the minis- na and accelerating sewage treat- expert Xiu Guolin said on Wednes- last year, with a production of 2.45 the company’s stores nationwide, Liu Huanxin, vice-minister of agri- try’s development and planning ment to make rural areas more day. million metric tons and an output it said. culture and rural affairs, said dur- department, said with intensified livable and attractive for business. Liu Jiayi, Party chief of Shan- value of over 15 billion yuan. Shi Wenjun, general manager of ing a news conference at the State efforts in recent years, living and Liu, the vice-minister of agricul- dong, and Li Ganjie, the provincial “We regard the fruit industry as local fruit logistics and sales com- Council Information Office. working conditions and the gener- ture and rural affairs, said more governor, went to the site to guide a pillar industry that enriches the pany Aksu Sweetheart Agricultur- Sustained efforts will also be al appearance in rural areas across resources will be devoted to agri- the rescue work for the second time prefecture and people,” said Dou al Science and Technology made to optimize distribution of China have significantly improved. culture and rural areas over the on Wednesday. Wangui, Party secretary of Aksu, Development, said the company public resources such as education, For example, 83 percent of resi- course of modernization, and inte- Liu urged the rescue team to adding that it has also played a helps farmers sell their products healthcare and culture between dents living in rural areas now grated development between spare no effort and use every min- key role in driving rural revitali- on major e-commerce platforms. rural and urban areas in counties, have access to tap water, and more urban and rural areas is necessary ute to rescue the trapped workers zation and improving people’s “We have warehouses in Xi’an, he said. than 90 percent of villages have to reduce the gap. in safe, scientific ways. livelihood. Shaanxi province, to better store Meanwhile, the ministry will domestic garbage disposal sys- The integrated development will The province issued a notice on “The advantage of our unique and deliver goods, decreasing carry out a five-year program to tems. Nearly all villages in China focus on counties, which are closer Wednesday to urge authorities and agricultural products and their logistics costs and cutting delivery improve the overall living environ- have access to internet services, he to rural areas, so they can become units at all levels to act immediate- good brand reputation lays a solid time. The purpose is to enable cus- ment in rural areas, Liu said. said, but he added that shortfalls centers for public services for resi- ly to investigate and rule out poten- basis to increase the incomes of tomers to eat fresh fruit from Aksu Development is an important still remain and sustained efforts dents in those areas, he said. tial risks that could cause an farmers.” as soon as possible,” Shi said.