Winter jujubes the key behind economic growth in Dali county

Starting from scratch in 2001, the winter jujube planting industry in Xiaopo village, Dali county of Weinan city in Shaanxi province, encountered many difficulties before expanding quickly in 2008 and then growing at a rate of 66.7 hectares per year. These efforts were led by Xiaopo's secretary of the village Party committee Xue Anquan.

In 2013, Xue seized an opportunity to support and expand the winter jujube industry in Dali county. He introduced the "10,000 mu (666.7 hectares) Organic Winter Jujube Modern Technology Demonstration Park" project to the village, which would receive an investment of 40 million yuan ($5.44 million) within a year. This included the construction of five new roads totaling 9 kilometers, the establishment of 66.7 hectares of interconnected greenhouse facilities, and the creation of a training center and a winter jujube cultural corridor.

In 2014, Xiaopo village attracted an additional investment of 13 million yuan to build a winter jujube trading market and logistics center covering 2.67 hectares in the park. The market has drawn winter jujube merchants from all over the country and made it easier for the local population to sell their produce.

In 2015, as e-commerce rapidly developed Xiaopo village planned and built an e-commerce center to reduce intermediary links in sales, allowing the village to directly sell their winter jujubes across the country.

In recent years, more and more young people who had previously gone to work in other cities have returned to Xiaopo village to reap the benefits of the improved economic opportunities. The shift is part of an overall trend in development, which has seen the village develop various tourism projects. Currently, there are observation platforms, jujube picking gardens, jujube cultural corridors, jujube source squares, sightseeing mini trains, jujube cultural exhibition parks, and children's amusement parks.

Now the winter jujube planting area in the village has reached 1000 hectares, exceeding Xue's original plan, with an annual output value of 120 million yuan.

Xiaopo village is just one of nine villages in Dali that exceed an annual income of 100 million yuan from winter jujubes. Jujube farmers in the county share the "Dali Winter Jujube" brand.

Dali county, formerly known as Tongzhou, is located in the eastern part of the Guanzhong plain in Shaanxi province. It consists of 15 towns, covering an area of 1,800 square kilometers with a population of 600,000. The winter jujube industry in Dali is the largest of its kind in the country, with an annual income of 6.5 billion yuan.

To further promote the high-quality development of the winter jujube industry in Dali, the county has established quality standards for jujubes and optimized cultivation techniques. It has also worked to monitor the entire production process, enhance brand building and market promotion, develop upstream and downstream industries, and increase technological support.