Young woman from Guizhou brings fortune to local people through beekeeping industry

Yuan Xiaomei, a young woman from southwest China's Guizhou Province, has developed a beekeeping business back in her hometown, bringing wealth to local people.

Yuan Xiaomei checks the growth of the bees on April 28, 2021. (Photo/Xinhua)

Yuan, who has always dreamt of becoming a beekeeper since a young age, returned to her hometown of Pana village, Nayong county, Bijie city of Guizhou to set up a bee breeding base three years ago. “With its abundant floral sources, the mountain where my village is located is an ideal place for developing a beekeeping industry,” she said.

She started with transferring land, buying beehives, and selecting bee species with the help of her family, and learnt relevant knowledge such as disease prevention and control and honey extraction online from experienced beekeepers. Her hard work paid off, with over 500 kilograms of quality honey harvested from her 350 beehives at the end of the year.

She sold her honey on e-commerce platforms to customers in cities. With her business continually expanding, her annual sales volume grew to exceed 1 million yuan (about $157,000). After her own dream had come true, she then decided to invite her fellow villagers to join the business. “I’m determined to further boost the industry with our joint efforts,” she said.

She has also established cooperative ties with 13 bee farms of Nayong, and gained loan support from the county. “Beekeeping has become an industry with our local features, and is being developed across the county, which makes me more confident in developing it,” she said.