Jiao Shenggui, founder and manager of Xintai Kangyuan Agricultural Technology Co [Photo/Voice of Tai'an]

Jiao Shenggui is a young man who quit his job at the Tai'an Science and Technology Bureau to search for more technologically-advanced ways to grow wild vegetables in Quangou town, Xintai city.

Jiao started his life as a farmer in 2011 when he contracted about 200 mu (13.3 hectares) of land in Quangou town to plant wild vegetables with local farmers there. In order to develop new farming techniques and help the locals out of poverty, Jiao made use of natural resources and built demonstration centers with the help of innovative technology.

In 2019, Jiao made use of a photovoltaic area to build China's first standardized planting center for wild vegetables and fruits. Jiao's farm covers an area of 1,500 mu and has an annual income exceeding 2 million yuan ($281,823). More and more locals are working with Jiao and using scientific techniques to grow wild vegetables.

Jiao has also been eying e-commerce. He set up three websites to display information on various types of wild vegetables and opened three e-shops on Taobao.com, an online shopping site belonging to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. According to Jiao, 95 percent of his farm's orders are online.

In addition, Jiao's company provides wild vegetable growing services for over 1,000 large-scale wild vegetable planting units every year. He has also organized an annual summit for farmers of wild vegetables to discuss and exchange ideas.