The county-level city of Qixia in Yantai, East China's Shandong province has made great achievements in social and economic development since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, according to a local news report.

Qixia is famous for its apple industry, which is considered as a key driving force that is boosting regional economic growth and advancing the city's rural vitalization. In the past 10 years, the local government has attached great importance to promoting the apple industry and developing it into a local specialty, which has brought tangible benefits to local residents. Qixia has formed a whole industrial chain centered around the apple industry, including planting, processing and sales.

According to official data, the total apple planting area in Qixia has reached 1 million mu (66,666.67 hectares) and the annual output of high-quality apples has reached 2.1 million metric tons, generating an annual output value of 16 billion yuan ($2.2 billion). The brand value of "Qixia Apple" hit 6.83 billion yuan last year, ranking fifth in the country and hitting a new record.

In recent years, Qixia has expanded the markets for its crunchy, pink and red apples by upgrading old orchards and investing in automation, sorting and transportation to boost the quality and quantity of its products. Official data showed that Qixia upgraded its 21,400 hectares of orchards during 2020 to 2021 to increase output and maintain quality, increasing apple yield and local farmers' incomes.

The city also adopted a new development model by setting up agricultural cooperatives, and accelerated the transfer of land use to develop the apple industry.

Efforts have also been made to set up a number of characteristic fruit bases to expand the product value, and the city also built 35 "Qixia Apple" stores in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen to help expand markets. Currently, "Qixia Apples" are sold in more than 60 countries and regions every year, including Southeast Asia, the European Union and the United States, according to official figures.

From 2012 to 2021, Qixia made great strides to develop its county economy by setting up an industrial park and developing local industries, such as high-end equipment manufacturing, new materials, food prepossessing, ore resources, rural tourism, and apples. Currently, the city has gathered six industrial projects including three equipment manufacturing projects, two food prepossessing projects and one for infrastructure.

In the past 10 years, Qixia has launched renovation projects in old urban residential communities to keep the "old city" flavor and also provide modern living conditions for people who live there. The city has seen a number of new towns constructed, and complete transport networks have been built in the new towns.

In recent years, the city has begun developing a more beautiful countryside and upgrading living conditions. Concrete steps have also been taken to improve the people's well-being and rural living environment, cultivate social etiquette and civility, and build a new socialist countryside that is beautiful, prosperous and harmonious.

The county-level city of Qixia in Yantai, East China's Shandong province makes great achievements in social and economic development. [Photo/Shm News]