In Jiufeng Town, Lecheng City, Shaoguan, the hills are blanketed with blooming Golden Prunus salicina trees. Their snow-white petals, cradling pale yellow stamens, sway gently in the breeze. From deep within the orchards, the crisp sounds of pruning shears mix with the patient explanations of agricultural technicians. This is a common scene in Jiufeng Town, where technical expertise is fully integrated into the fields to achieve comprehensive, full-cycle management of the Golden Prunus salicina crop. "This cluster is too dense; keep only the two or three strongest buds in the middle, otherwise the fruit won't grow properly," an agricultural technician advises, crouching under a tree to demonstrate pruning techniques to a group of attentive local fruit growers.
Jiufeng Town is the core production area for Lecheng's Golden Prunus salicina, a fruit recognized as a National Geographical Indication Product for its golden hue and crisp, sweet flesh, earning it the local nickname "Golden Fruit." This year, the town expanded its orchard area by approximately 300 mu. To strengthen the industry, agricultural technical teams have been deployed to provide hands-on guidance throughout every stage, from winter fertilization and spring bloom protection to pest control and fruit bagging. During the critical spring management period, technicians offer targeted support on pollination, flower and fruit thinning, and water-fertilizer regulation, while also advising on drainage and disease prevention. In export bases like Pingshi Village, technicians have installed fruit fly traps and promoted green pest control methods to reduce pesticide use.
Beyond the orchards, a drive along Provincial Highway S248 reveals the "Hundred-Mile Fruit Corridor," a integrated agricultural and cultural tourism zone. The route is lined with blooming peach and plum trees set against picturesque villages, featuring amenities like town plazas, visitor stations, and cultural walls depicting local horticultural stories. Lecheng City has coordinated resources from towns including Lecheng, Changlai, Beixiang, and Jiufeng to link natural landscapes, rural settlements, and specialty agriculture into a 15-kilometer demonstration belt, benefiting 48 villages and approximately 200,000 residents. Against this revitalized backdrop, Changlai Town's "Most Beautiful Country Road" and vibrant displays of yellow bell blossoms have become standout attractions, with visitors often exclaiming, "It's like stepping into a painting!"
Leveraging its 45,000 mu of peach and plum blossoms, Lecheng has hosted annual flower-viewing and Golden Prunus salicina branding events for several years. New formats such as wellness retreats, boutique homestays, and leisure agriculture have been introduced, forming an industrial layout centered around "one core, two hubs, and four zones." By activating the "blossom economy," the area has launched four premium tour routes focusing on ecological studies and cultural experiences, expanding into diverse scenarios like "blossom viewing + spring outings," "blossom viewing + intangible cultural heritage," and "blossom viewing + fruit picking." This creates a year-round tourism experience: flower appreciation in spring, fruit tasting in summer, landscape viewing in autumn, and wellness retreats in winter.
At the newly opened Manhua 1928 Homestay in Jiufeng Town, a visitor named Ms. Wang enjoyed tea on the terrace surrounded by blossoms: "I tried the Golden Prunus salicina last year and came specifically to see the flowers this time—I didn’t expect to find such a unique homestay too." Lecheng currently has 25 registered homestays, including the nationally accredited Danxia Impression · Bee Homestay. In March, the 5th Guangdong Homestay Conference was held locally, attracting five cultural tourism projects with contracted investments exceeding 100 million yuan, such as the second phase of Danxia Impression · Bee Homestay and the Longwangtan Resort Hotel.
Deep within the flower sea, a unique cycling event recently concluded. The "Hundred-Mile Fruit Corridor" 2026 Shaozhou 100 (Lecheng Station) cycling activity featured a 151-kilometer "Orchard Route" through the core Golden Prunus salicina production area. Supported by the provincial "Guangdong Goods Go Global" initiative, the event attracted about 50 sponsors and generated over 1 million yuan in derivative consumption from equipment and local food sales. The nationally accredited Danxia Impression · Bee Homestay drew numerous visitors.
In recent years, the local area has innovated with a "sports + flowers and fruits" integration model, using sporting events to create special features like "cycling markets" and "Lecheng Flavor Markets." Themed concerts and live broadcasts during events have helped promote local specialties such as Golden Prunus salicina and Beixiang water chestnuts, driving significant on-site purchases and truly achieving "cycling-driven visitor flow and immediate consumption."
With a stronger brand and broader sales channels, local fruit growers have seen their incomes rise. Centered on the Golden Prunus salicina, a National Geographical Indication Product, Lecheng has promoted standardized planting, established a provincial-level modern agricultural industrial park, and leveraged platforms like the Canton Tower and New York Times Square billboards for promotion. The specialty fruit industry, covering 141,600 mu, now generates an output value of 1.965 billion yuan. By building a "company + cooperative + base + farmer" interest-linking mechanism and promoting income models such as "guaranteed base income + equity dividends" and "local employment + profit sharing," the Golden Prunus salicina has become a true prosperity fruit for the area.
In 2025, the average income of fruit-growing households increased by 30,000 to 80,000 yuan, while leading enterprises and cooperatives saw profits grow by 17.22%. Township-based companies in major production areas like Jiufeng and Liangjiang reported a surge in revenue of 185.71%. The area received over 850,000 tourists, generating tourism revenue exceeding 850 million yuan, and the collective income of 19 village economies in the region surpassed 8 million yuan.
Looking ahead, Lecheng aims to further deepen the integration of specialty agriculture and rural tourism, using the Golden Prunus salicina as a lever for rural revitalization. Future plans include enhancing technical support across the entire industry chain, expanding cultivation scale while improving management quality, and continuing to polish the "Hundred-Mile Fruit Corridor" brand. The small but mighty Golden Prunus salicina is set to remain a powerful engine for boosting farmer incomes and industrial vitality, contributing to the effective implementation of the "Hundreds of Millions Project."
Comments