Green plum harvest commences in Yongtai county of SE China's Fujian

A green plum drying yard in Yongtai county, Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, resembles a giant checkerboard. (People's Daily Online/Lin Mingxian)

Drying areas of a green plum processing yard in Yongtai county, Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, are divided into a checkered pattern. (People's Daily Online/Lin Mingxian)

In the mountains of Yongtai county in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, green plums hang on the orchard’s branches, their golden fruit gleaming amid dense green foliage.

Naturally high in acidity, green plums are rarely eaten fresh and are mainly used for processed products. As Fuzhou's leading green plum production hub, Yongtai has developed a strong fruit-processing foundation. The county currently has 65,000 mu (about 4,333 hectares) of plum orchards, producing an average annual yield of 75,000 tonnes.

To realize the crop's full market potential, Yongtai has expanded into a wide range of processing industries, including plum wine, preserved plum snacks, and beverage ingredients, extending the industrial chain and increasing product value.

Photo shows ripe green plums at an orchard in Yongtai county, Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Lin Mingxian)

Photo shows ripened green plums hanging among the lush green leaves of an orchard in Yongtai county, Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Lin Mingxian)

Photo shows ripened green plums hanging among the lush green leaves of an orchard in Yongtai county, Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Lin Mingxian)

A drone is used to transport green plums in Yongtai county, Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Lin Mingxian)

A farmer picks green plums at an orchard in Yongtai county, Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo courtesy of the convergence media center of Yongtai)

Workers dry green plums in the sun in Yongtai county, Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Lin Mingxian)