A boom in demand for the stone fruit has revitalized the once almost abandoned area

Workers load the newly harvested plums into crates on a transportation cart. (WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY)

Wuniu village in Chongqing's Yubei district is only 19 kilometers from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. In the past, poor agricultural infrastructure and a lack of job opportunities forced young people to leave the village to look for work in other parts of the country.

Eighty percent of Wuniu's land was left unused and it became a typical "empty" village.

However, in recent years a boom in demand for plums has seen young people stream back to Wuniu to try to grow the stone fruit.

Last year, nearly 150 metric tons of xiantao plums were harvested by villagers and sold for more than 1.8 million yuan (US$260,280).

About 600,000 plum saplings were cultivated and sold for 1.4 million yuan, while more than 20 kinds of other fruits were also grown in Wuniu.

Fruit and vegetable cultivation has helped increase many villagers' incomes and created jobs for others.

Many young people have also returned to Wuniu to open homestays to cater to tourists.

This year, the village's fruit harvest is estimated to reach 175 tons and be worth 3 million yuan.

wangzhuangfei@chinadaily.com.cn

Workers prepare to transport boxes of xiantao plums grown at the Four Seasons Plum Plantation in Wuniu village, Chongqing, to other parts of the country on July 23. (WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY)

Plums are sorted and packed at the warehouse in the village on July 23. (WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY)

About 500 kilograms of xiantao plums are transported to the plantation's warehouse along a track. (WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY)

The xiantao plums are boxed in preparation for shipping at the warehouse. (WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY)

Boxes of plums are loaded into a delivery truck. (WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY)

A visitor harvests plums at the village on July 23. (WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY)

From left: A villager exhibits plums harvested at Wuniu. A worker shows xiantao plums the plantation sells on an e-commerce platform on his mobile phone. (WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY)