Promotional event for Chinese chestnuts of Qinglong county held in Beijing

Photo shows Chinese chestnut products of Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Bo)

A promotional event for Chinese chestnuts and other featured agricultural products of Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County, north China's Hebei Province, was held in Beijing on Oct. 8.

Zhang Delong, executive deputy mayor of the county, shared information about the development of the Chinese chestnut industry and other industries related to special agricultural products of the county at the event.

Zhang Delong, executive deputy mayor of Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County, shares information about the development of the local industries related to special agricultural products at a promotional event for featured agricultural products of the county. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Bo)

Located in northern Qinhuangdao city, Qinglong is characterized by agricultural products, according to Zhang. He noted that because of its high-quality local specialties, including Chinese chestnuts, apples, and coarse cereals, the county has won a reputation as the "hometown of Chinese chestnuts east to Beijing," "China's hometown of apples," "China's hometown of niandoubao (sticky steamed bun stuffed with bean paste),” and "Hebei's hometown of coarse cereals".

With a long cultivation history, Chinese chestnuts of Qinglong are considered one of the best types of Chinese chestnuts, Zhang said, adding that they have a plump and regular shape, bright purple-red color, and sweet and soft kernels, and are nutrient-rich.

Over the past decade, Qinglong has adhered to the green development philosophy, and vigorously promoted the local Chinese chestnut industry and made it an important underpinning of the county's rural revitalization strategy, according to Zhang.

A participant shares his stories at a promotional event for Chinese chestnuts and other featured agricultural products of Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Bo)

By the end of 2022, the county's planting area of Chinese chestnuts reached 1 million mu (66,667 hectares), ranking first nationwide, Zhang said. Meanwhile, the county's annual output of Chinese chestnuts climbed to 58,900 tonnes, the annual output value of the local Chinese chestnut industry hit 1.29 billion yuan ($176.82 million), and local farmers' per capita annual income from Chinese chestnuts exceeded 2,900 yuan, he added.

Since 2021, Qinglong has established stable partnerships with e-commerce platform Hema Fresh, food brand Lishanghuang, and other distribution channels, selling over 2,000 tonnes of Chinese chestnuts annually, according to Zhang.

Baifeng Trade Co., Ltd., a leading trading enterprise based in Qinglong, has established China's largest Chinese chestnut processing production line, and is able to process 12,000 tonnes of Chinese chestnuts per year, the official said.

Experts, officials, and entrepreneurs hold discussions at a roundtable meeting during a promotional event for Chinese chestnuts and other featured agricultural products of Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Bo)

Products of the company have won the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the British Retail Consortium (BRC), among other food-related authorities in the world, Zhang noted. In particular, the company's various types of chestnut products are exported to more than 30 countries and regions all over the world, he said.

"Qinglong is a major source of high-quality Chinese chestnuts with the largest planting area in China, but was rarely known by people. On the first day I got here, I was given the task of bringing the local Chinese chestnuts to more consumers through e-commerce," Liu Lin, an employee of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba who was sent to assist the rural revitalization efforts of Qinglong, said at the promotional event.

The introduction of e-commerce into the local Chinese chestnut industry has effectively boosted the sales of Chinese chestnuts produced in the county, according to Liu. As Chinese chestnuts of the county became high-end agricultural products and reached broader markets, local women transformed from left-behind wives of migrant workers into e-commerce live-streamers, Liu said.

Photo shows a company and Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County signing a cooperation agreement at a promotional event for Chinese chestnuts and other featured agricultural products of the county. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Bo)

As a result, e-commerce brought an increase of 281 million yuan to the annual output value of the county's Chinese chestnut industry, and lured many young people back to their hometown to start their own business, Liu said.

In addition to Chinese chestnuts, Qinglong is also known for many other products, including apples, hawthorn berries, millet, niandoubao, Kaoliang spirit, edible fungi, traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, and broiler chickens, according to Li Yaobin, Party chief of the county.

Li Yaobin, Party chief of Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County, addresses a promotional event for Chinese chestnuts and other featured agricultural products of the county. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Bo)

"The unique pristine ecological environment of Qinglong has nurtured five featured industries, namely forest and fruits, coarse cereals, edible fungi, traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, and animal husbandry," Li said at the promotional event.

"We aim to create a 'Qinglong model' of rural revitalization with the characteristics of mountainous areas in northern China," Li said.