"Picking pears!" At 6 AM, as the first light of dawn climbed onto the branches, the pear orchards in Anle Village, Muyudian Town, Laiyang City, Shandong Province, were already bustling with activity.
Fruit farmer Zuo Yanling skillfully tied her headscarf, put on gloves, picked up a fruit crate, and joined fellow villagers as they stepped into the depths of the pear orchard.
With a lift, twist, and turn, a large autumn moon pear was expertly "brought down" from the tree and gently placed into the nearby fruit crate.
"This one weighs at least one and a half jin!" Zuo Yanling's eyes crinkled with a smile. After six years of growing pears, her fifteen-acre pear orchard has welcomed another good harvest this year. "At the best times, one jin of pears can sell for over four yuan, and one acre can generate fifteen thousand yuan in income," she said, her hands never stopping their work.
The pears were still hanging on the trees, but orders had already "chased" their way to the fields. By the village road, trucks over ten meters long had their cargo holds wide open; in the orchards, farmers bent over picking fruits, boxing and transporting them—a "high-speed channel" from branches to market was quietly operating in the morning light.
At the Baifumei fruit brand supply chain sorting facility dozens of miles away, fruit crates were stacked like mountains in the warehouse. Workers placed freshly picked autumn moon pears one by one onto automatic sorting machines, which precisely graded them by weight and sugar content. "Premium fruits can reach 750 grams in weight, with sugar content generally exceeding 12.5," explained facility manager Huang Hexu.
For eight years, Huang Hexu has come to Laiyang annually to purchase pears for distribution to national markets. "Laiyang autumn moon pears have excellent texture dissolution and crystal sugar sweetness, with stable quality and many repeat customers." This year, the company plans to purchase 6 to 8 million jin of autumn moon pears here.
Good pears require good management. Professional technical service teams are providing full-process custodial services for the pear orchards.
At Laiyang Yuhua Fruit and Vegetable Planting Professional Cooperative, technical personnel from Qingdao Jinborui Fertilizer Industry were customizing management plans for pear orchards, taking soil samples to test nutritional components, formulating specialized fertilizers based on data, and applying precise fertilization through drip irrigation systems. From soil conditioning and root nourishment to flower bud differentiation—every step from spring sprouting to autumn ripening follows standardized management. "Previously, autumn moon pears often developed cork spot disease due to calcium deficiency, but now through technical intervention, this rarely occurs," said technical director Chen Guandong.
Laiyang, known as "China's Pear Town," not only has a long history of pear cultivation and solid industrial foundation, but also leads the nation in large-scale, standardized cultivation of autumn moon pears. As the core production area for autumn moon pears nationwide, Laiyang's autumn moon pear cultivation now covers nearly 70,000 acres, with annual production reaching 180,000 tons.
Under standardization and technological empowerment, Laiyang autumn moon pears are not only large and sweet but are also entering international markets.
"On July 12, 2024, our facility's autumn moon pears passed the acceptance and registration of Qingdao Customs inspection, obtaining a 'pass' to enter European and American markets," introduced Yu Hua, director of Yuhua Fruit and Vegetable Planting Professional Cooperative. Last year, the cooperative signed a thousand-ton sales contract with a major American supermarket, and this year secured new orders from the Canadian market.
On the path of industrial revitalization, Laiyang's pear industry is "growing" new branches. Online platform order notifications chime continuously, and deep processing workshops are filled with pear fragrance—industrial chains extending from orchards have long crossed the fields and moved toward broader horizons.
In Dalu Village, Heluo Town, Laiyang City, villager Ren Xiaotong is successfully selling dozens of acres of autumn moon pears through community group buying and other online platforms. In the adjacent workshop, automated production lines run at steady speed, as cooked pear syrup is precisely filled into transparent pear syrup lollipops. Workers skillfully seal and package them, with boxes of products filling the shipping area, ready to be sent across the country.
Pear juice, pear syrup, preserved pears, dried pears, crispy chips, pear wine... In recent years, Laiyang has continuously focused on four major directions—"beverages, crispy products, syrups, and medicine"—constantly extending the deep processing industrial chain for pears, promoting the application of refined pear products in food, health supplements, medical fields, effectively enhancing product added value and achieving full-chain extension and structural upgrading of the pear industry.
"When Laiyang Ci pears ripen in October, the peak season for pear syrup production will come again," Ren Xiaotong said with a clear voice, full of anticipation, "That's when we'll be truly busy and happy!"
On these fields of hope, pears are connecting an increasingly long industrial chain, sweetening consumers' taste buds and enriching villagers' pockets.
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