Yiyuan county – administered by Zibo city in East China's Shandong province – has added a new provincial modern agriculture industrial park.
That's according to a document issued on Feb 16 by Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Shandong Provincial Department of Finance.
The park is situated in the middle of Shandong province, at an average elevation of 401 meters, in the highest region of Shandong.
Thanks to its convenient transportation, it lies within a "two-hour living circle" comprising Jinan, Qingdao and other major cities.
It sits in a globally recognized industrial belt for growing fruit. The park has a developing apple industry, loads of sunlight, clean water and its soil is rich in trace elements.
The park has set up a working center for academicians and a technical engineering center for apples – independently breeding a new variety of Shandong's short-branch red Fuji apples.
Xili, a traditional fruit industry town, is the birthplace of the Yiyuan Red apple variety. [Photo/WeChat ID: yygdzsyy]
Yiyuan county itself has formed a modern fruit industrial ecosystem with high-end technologies as the driver and injected impetus into the development of its modern agricultural sector.
It has also striven to boost rural tourism in recent years - encouraging tourists to appreciate spring blossoms, enjoy summer scenic spots and pick apples in the autumn. It's a place that integrates agricultural operations with tourism – attracting over 120,000 visitors every year.
