About 80 percent of cotton expected to be harvested by machinery in Xinjiang this year

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has recently ushered in its cotton harvest season, with more than 7,000 cotton pickers hired to reap cotton in fields across the autonomous region. This year, an estimated 80 percent of the cotton grown in Xinjiang is expected to be harvested by machines.

Cotton planted on 7.4 million mu (493,333 hectares) of land in Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, is currently being harvested.

Xinjiang's unique geographical location and the rich sunlight, heat, water and soil conditions it is blessed with allow the region to produce cotton with long staple, good color and high quality. (Photo/Wang Zhipeng)

"This year, I planted 800 mu of cotton and the yield stands at between 450 kilograms and 500 kilograms per mu. All of my cotton will be harvested by machinery," said a local farmer in Aksu city, Aksu Prefecture.

Cotton planted in Yuli county, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, is known for its long staple, good color and high quality. In recent days, over 760 cotton pickers have been busy working in the cotton fields to pick, compact and pack the cotton.

Cotton pickers work in a field in Aksu city, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo/Liu Bingbing)

"This year, we are using machines to pick and bundle up the cotton. It takes 5 to 6 minutes for a cotton picker to make a bale of cotton weighing about 850 kilograms, which is the total weight of cotton picked by 10 workers in a whole day," said Guo Shixue, head of the technology department of a local cotton planting cooperative in Yuli county.

A cotton picker works in a field in Yuli county, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo/Wang Zhipeng)