In the Gannan revolutionary old region, alongside cultural landmarks like the "Red Capital" and "Cradle of the Republic," there stand industrial banners such as the "World Tungsten Capital" and "Rare Earth Kingdom." At the historic site of the Jiangkou Trade Branch of the Chinese Soviet Republic, located at the confluence of the Gong and Ping rivers in Ganzian District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, visitors from across the country listen intently to tales of revolutionary martyrs, drawing strength and inspiration from their legacy.
This site witnessed a remarkable economic breakthrough. Huang Yun, head of the Propaganda Section of the Ganzhou Municipal Party Committee Party History Research Office, explained that during the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the Kuomintang imposed a stringent economic blockade on the Central Soviet Area, leading to severe shortages of supplies, medicine, and weapons. In this critical moment, the Jiangkou Trade Branch leveraged the region's tungsten resources to establish external trade routes, exchanging tungsten ore for salt, cloth, medicine, and weaponry. This effort shouldered 70% of the Central Soviet Area's foreign trade, making significant contributions to both the revolutionary war and economic development.
Fast forward 90 years, and this "black gold" tungsten is writing a new legend through the industrial revitalization of the old region. Ganzian District, once a county, has transformed into the "China Rare Earth Valley." Over ten national-level and nineteen provincial-level platforms, including the Ganjiang Innovation Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have been established here, with the rare earth new materials and application cluster earning a spot on the national advanced manufacturing cluster list. In the first half of this year, the district's tungsten industry generated revenues of 11.168 billion yuan, a 190.69% year-on-year increase.
Breaking new ground through scientific innovation, entrepreneurs rooted in the red soil are carrying forward the Long March spirit of independence and hard work, venturing into uncharted territories in new economic arenas. "Our path is a technological Long March," said He Pengyu, chairman of Ganzhou Haoyoupengke Technology Co., Ltd. In its early days, the company abandoned simple assembly and integration, choosing instead to develop core algorithms and hardware entirely in-house. They delved into the mines of southern Ganzhou, testing and iterating equipment under harsh conditions. Today, the company has achieved intelligent and precise sorting for over 40 minerals, including copper, gold, iron, and tungsten, with numerous technologies breaking foreign monopolies.
Thousands of meters above, flights navigate the skies. On September 28 last year, with the opening of Ruijin Airport, a new "east-west" dual-airport layout emerged in Ganzhou, making it one of the few cities in China with two airports. Meanwhile, the low-altitude economy is taking flight. Nankang District, leveraging its "five national firsts"—including drone logistics pilot projects, industrial-grade drone wind tunnel laboratories, and vast, contiguous flight airspace—is aggressively pursuing new opportunities. "We have attracted and cultivated 34 upstream and downstream enterprises in the low-altitude economy. This has formed a manufacturing system anchored by seven complete aircraft manufacturers like Yifei Aviation, Mingde New Materials, and Jiangxi Tongyi UAV, supported by upstream and downstream partners like Lingji Propulsion and Yummengshan Technology," explained Li Yuan, a member of Nankang's low-altitude economy development task force.
In Baihelin, Longmu Township, Nankang District, the low-altitude economy is quietly altering the lives of local farmers. Last June, the province's first "drone + high-speed rail" intercity transport scenario was launched here, accelerating the journey of agricultural products from the mountains to the dining table. "The altitude is high and the roads are rugged, so produce used to be trapped in the mountains. Now, the farm is swamped with orders, and transportation is no longer a worry," said Liu Jialiang, leader of the Longmu Township Shared Mountain Farm.
Putting people first, the new-era Gannan old region embodies the Long March principles of seeking truth from facts and relying on the masses, rallying immense strength for Chinese-style modernization. Nankang's furniture industry is a "grassroots industry" that sprang from nothing. In the 1990s, numerous carpenters returned from Guangdong, starting their journeys with a single plane and a small workshop. Today, powered by digital empowerment through an industrial intelligent network, Nankang furniture has leapfrogged from traditional manufacturing to modern smart home production, with the entire industry chain's revenue surpassing 290 billion yuan, unleashing a powerful industrial cluster effect.
Gannan navel oranges serve as the "golden fruit" that has lifted people out of poverty. Supported by national research platforms like the National Navel Orange Engineering Technology Research Center and the National Key Laboratory for Navel Orange Inspection, a modernized navel orange industry system is maturing. Last year, the planting area reached 1.9 million mu, with a citywide output of 2.1 million tons, generating a total industrial cluster output value of 23.2 billion yuan and providing employment for over one million rural laborers in the old region.
Over 90 years, the original aspiration remains steadfast, and the spirit endures. The path of industrial development in the Gannan revolutionary old region is one of relentless breakthrough and transcendence. As the region's industrial landscape expands and its capabilities rapidly advance, Gannan is striding towards a new, high-quality developmental frontier, embarking on yet another new journey.
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