Winter sunlight bathes the hills of Jinxi as over 32,000 acres of gardenia plants reach harvest season. The rolling slopes glow with golden fruits bending the branches like scattered nuggets, setting the countryside ablaze with brilliance. Farmers with baskets, shuttle trucks in fields, and humming processing equipment – from branch to workshop, these small gardenia berries carry the hopes of thousands, composing a vibrant harvest symphony.
**The Transformation Journey** At Desheng Agricultural Processing Plant in Langju Town's Xialu Village, intense gardenia fragrance mingles with rising steam. Workers busily load freshly delivered berries onto conveyor belts, where the plump fruits begin their metamorphosis. "Post-harvest processing is a race against time," explains Wu Shengchao, general manager of Jinxi Desheng Agriculture, pointing to steam boilers. "Blanching is crucial for locking in color and quality." Through observation windows, raw berries tumble in steam, gradually transforming from green to translucent gold.
At the other end of the workshop, workers spread steamed gardenias evenly on bamboo drying mats. Across vast drying fields, wooden rakes turn golden berries into glittering carpets as moisture evaporates in sunlit mist – the first critical step determining final product quality.
**Modernizing Traditional Craft** "Previously, steaming relied entirely on veteran workers' experience, making quality inconsistent," says technical supervisor Wu Bin, standing before newly installed smart processing equipment that combines steaming and drying functions.
This intelligent production line now serves as the workshop's cornerstone. Real-time temperature and duration parameters display on screens, with machines automatically completing processes after initial programming. "Early and late harvest berries require different treatments," Wu explains while operating the control panel. "Now we can precisely adjust parameters for each batch's characteristics." Daily processing capacity has increased 3-4 fold with lower energy consumption and improved eco-friendliness.
**Small Fruit, Big Impact** "These aren't ordinary wild berries but our 'golden fruit' for prosperity," Wu Shengchao calculates: each acre yields about 500kg fresh berries, generating over $900 per acre as dried product – far exceeding traditional crops.
More remarkably, this small fruit has spawned a complete industrial chain. Currently, 4,000 households across Jinxi's 13 towns participate in gardenia cultivation, supported by 22 processing sites forming an integrated system from planting to sales. Projections indicate the industry will surpass $13 million annual output by 2025, increasing average household income by $1,150 annually.
From overlooked wild berries to a specialty industry boosting rural revitalization, gardenia's golden hue paints a vivid picture of "small fruits driving big industry," making farmers' lives increasingly sweet and prosperous like well-prepared gardenia jam.
Comments