Loquats flourish in Tangqi town, in Hangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: lpnonglin]

Two fruit produce industries based in Hangzhou — capital of East China's Zhejiang province — have both been selected by the provincial government as models in driving prosperity forwards, local media outlets reported.

They are the loquat industry in Tangqi town in the city's Yuhang district and the strawberry industry in the county-level city of Jiande, administered by Hangzhou.

The Tangqi loquat, with over 1,400 years of recorded cultivation history, has quite literally grown into a golden fruit for local farmers.

By 2024, Yuhang's loquat planting area had reached 17,000 mu (1,133 hectares), producing 9,400 metric tons annually and generating an industry output of over 1.2 billion yuan ($168.7 million) — boosting the incomes of more than 10,000 farmers.

Efforts such as varietal improvements, flower tea developments, grading systems — and models integrating enterprises, cooperatives and farmers — have created 3,500 jobs and raised the average per-mu income of farmers by over 1,000 yuan.

Meanwhile, the Jiande Strawberry has become a national brand worth over 1.5 billion yuan. In 2024, its cultivation area covered nearly 100,000 mu, with an industry output value of 5.01 billion yuan and average household income gains of 300,000 yuan.

Jiande has also trained over 7,200 strawberry master growers — exporting its techniques to 27 provinces and pioneering standardized planting models that have created nearly 50,000 jobs nationwide.

Both cases are seen as highlighting just how Zhejiang's produce is driving its full-chain rural revitalization and offering replicable paths to common prosperity.

People pick strawberries from hanging planting racks in Jiande. [Photo/WeChat account: JDFB64734823]