An event coinciding with the autumn equinox unfolded on Sunday to celebrate the bountiful harvest and discuss strategies for rural vitalization in Wanning, Hainan province.
Farmers, agricultural experts and various community members from across the province gathered for the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival.
This year's festival holds special significance. Following the devastating impact of Super Typhoon Yagi, which made landfall in Hainan on Sept 6, agricultural communities across the province united in a coordinated recovery effort.
Festival attendees enjoyed a vibrant blend of culinary, cultural and entertainment activities. The Hainan Food Culture Exhibition showcased local delicacies, delighting participants with authentic flavors. A coffee tasting event highlighted the unique appeal of Hainan brews, reflecting the coffee industry's high-quality development. Interactive rural contests further energized the atmosphere.
Wang Huihao from Qionghai — a regular at the Harvest Festival — once again used the event to promote local specialties. This year, he introduced a range of agricultural products, including camellia oil.
More than a decade ago, Wang led the formation of a specialized farmers' cooperative for the cultivation of oil-seed crops. In collaboration with universities and research institutions, the cooperative has evolved into a comprehensive enterprise encompassing seedling cultivation, planting, processing and sales, with an annual output value exceeding 10 million yuan ($1.4 million).
Wang Dezhi, a vendor from Baisha Yacha Supply and Marketing Cooperative, showed off Baisha's fungus ganoderma, five-fingered peaches and smilax. Participating in the festival for the first time, Wang was delighted to find that attendees were not only interested in viewing the products but also eager to purchase them.
High-efficiency tropical agriculture is one of the four main industries driving the development of Hainan Free Trade Port. Leveraging its rich natural resources and unique climate, Hainan has cultivated a variety of quality products and achieved consistent harvests and steady income growth for farmers.
In the first half of this year, the province's total agricultural output value reached 125 billion yuan, a 3.7 percent increase year-on-year. Rural residents saw notable income increases, with per capita disposable income reaching 12,343 yuan, up 7.5 percent and outpacing urban growth, according to local authorities.
Now Hainan is preparing for the busy winter vegetable planting season. As China's winter vegetable basket and fruit plate, Hainan maintains a stable planting area of around 200,000 hectares annually, with a production volume of about 5 million tons.
After the harvest festival, Hainan will continue to leverage its tropical agricultural advantages, enhancing agricultural technology, expanding planting areas and improving product quality to provide a premium, safe and stable selection of products for tables across the nation, a representative from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hainan province said.
