County's wealth entwined with flourishing orchids

Orchid boom

Over the past 25 years, orchid farming in the county has gone from virtually zero to an annual turnover of 3 billion yuan (see box).Orchid farms in the county cover more than 2,360 hectares, and 21,000 people have found well-paying jobs related to the industry.

Ma Sanlang, 37, who owns the New Brothers Agricultural Development Co, is one of the locals benefiting from the boom.

He had several jobs in Shenzhen before he returned to his home village of Songtang in 2005 to take care of his parents. At the time, he worked at an orchid farm of an investor from Taiwan.

In 2020, Ma started his own orchid growing business. He now has 100 mu (6.67 hectares) of farmland and grows more than 200 orchid varieties. Last year, his business earned more than 10 million yuan in revenue.

"I wouldn't have what I have now without my orchid business. I have my apartment, my car. My three kids are going to primary school in the county town to have a good education," he said.

Ma employs 10 full-time and four part-time workers. Locals make money by both renting their land and working in the sector.

A key to the industry's rapid growth over the past 25 years has been the input from the local government, which has actively attracted investment, including for research facilities, and strongly promoted the local orchid industry, he added.

The 28th China Orchid Expo was held in Wengyuan in 2018, making it the first county to host the event.

Also, an orchid industrial park was designated as a national modern agriculture industrial park by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Finance in 2022. It is the only industrial park in the country that focuses on flowers.

While Ma's sales volume has increased over the past two years, the price of orchids has fallen. He believes ongoing development of new orchid varieties is crucial to maintaining good prices.

His company is one of the shareholders of Guangdong Wengshan Orchid Research Co, a major orchid breeding facility in Wengyuan. The Environmental Horticulture Research Institute of the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences is also a shareholder. The company has other research institutions across the country developing new orchid varieties.

Two decades ago, expensive orchid seedlings were sourced from Taiwan and South Korea. Today, 16 agricultural research facilities in Wengyuan provide about half of the seedlings used in the county, with the remainder coming from other provinces, said Liu Weiping, chairman of Guangdong Wengshan Orchid Research Co and vice-chairman of the Orchid Sub-Association of the China Flower Association.