The 15th stop of the "Touring Shandong, Exploring Jining" series of study and visit activities took place on June 10.

Six Thai students from Shandong Polytechnic College, including Pingthi Pariwat, Thamrongkhunanan Chayakorn, and Chombun Thawit, visited a featured village to experience the joy of picking fruits and vegetables and also visited a rose estate.

The first stop of the activity was at Gaozhuang village, a featured planting village in Jintun town. Walking into the farm, rows of greenhouses come into view. Inside the greenhouses, red tomatoes, sweet and crispy melons, and rainbow watermelons with black and green stripes hang from the vines. Everyone received a small basket and began their picking journey.

Subsequently, the international students went to Yijiahe Mushroom Planting Professional Cooperative. This cooperative was established and led by the Gaozhuang Village Party Branch, which currently has 10 greenhouses and grows shiitake mushrooms, with an annual income of more than 500,000 yuan ($69,950).

With anticipation in their hearts, the students arrived at the second destination of the activity - the Shihua Rose Planting Cooperative.

"The roses we cultivate in our cooperative are edible. They can be made into rose tea, rose cakes, and even rose wine," said Wang Xingang, head of the cooperative.

According to his introduction, the cooperative has now been devoted to industrial integration, combining cultivation, processing, sales, and tourism services.

Finally, carrying the picked roses, the international students arrived at the production workshop. Under the guidance of the cooperative staff, they picked off the petals, added sugar, and kneaded until the sugar and rose were fully integrated. The students were fully focused, enjoying the first experience of making rose jam themselves.

International students learn to make rose jam. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_ccfd1293bad8]