Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) – Stepping into the Liancai Agricultural Production Base in Gaoqiao Town, Changsha County, Hunan Province, a scene of abundant harvest unfolds inside the greenhouses: rows of chili pepper plants stand neatly, laden with plump, slightly wrinkled, and glossy "Gaoqiao Qingxiang" peppers.
Farmers move about the base in the morning light, deftly plucking fresh peppers into baskets. Outside the greenhouses, sorting, packing, and boxing are completed in one smooth motion. The fresh peppers, still glistening with morning dew, are then delivered via cold chain logistics directly to several well-known restaurants in the city.
"In 2025, sales of 'Gaoqiao Qingxiang' peppers reached over 2.1 million yuan, and this year we expect to reach even greater heights," said Xiao Zhixiang, the base's manager. Currently, the base cultivates this variety of pepper on 80 mu (approximately 5.3 hectares), with a yield of up to 2100 jin (approximately 1400 catties) per mu.
Relying on the personalized cultivation techniques and "double ten" harvesting standards provided by the expert team from the Changsha Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the peppers boast stable quality and excellent marketability, making them a signature ingredient for restaurants.
Technology empowers industry, and superior varieties are the core support. "Gaoqiao Qingxiang" chili peppers originate from "Changyan Qingxiang," Hunan Province's first high-quality hybrid chili pepper variety, bred by Zhou Qinghua's team at the Changsha Academy of Agricultural Sciences. It boasts three major advantages: extremely early maturity, superior quality, and high economic benefits. It hits the market 10 days earlier than traditional varieties, with thin skin, crisp flesh, and a spicy, fragrant, and tender texture, fetching a market price as high as 198 yuan per kilogram.
In addition to Qingxiang chili peppers, the base's seasonal vegetables, such as crisp water spinach, bok choy, and sweet potato tips, are already on the market in batches. Star products like apple loofah and eggplant will follow suit in mid-to-late May.
Taking advantage of the construction of the modern agricultural industrial park, the base has introduced soilless cultivation technology and successfully trialed new specialty varieties such as purple-backed amaranth, andrographis paniculata, and golden-leaf beets, which will be launched on the market successively.
A thriving industry leads to a prosperous livelihood. The base actively plays a role in connecting farmers and promoting rural development, creating more than 30 new jobs and boosting the income of surrounding farmers by more than 300,000 yuan. For impoverished and monitored households in the area, the base also provides high-quality chili seedlings free of charge, along with comprehensive technical guidance on transplanting, management, and pest and disease control, achieving the goal of "providing a seedling, developing an industry, and enriching a household."
Specialty agriculture is a "hard support" for rural revitalization. Gaoqiao Town has always adhered to the principle of promoting agriculture through science and technology, relying on the construction of a modern agricultural industrial park, fully leveraging the technical advantages of provincial and municipal agricultural science academies, introducing high-quality new varieties, and supporting the growth of leading enterprises.
Currently, the town's edible mushroom cultivation scale ranks among the top in Changsha City, with the entire industrial chain exceeding 20 million yuan in output value. Three key tea enterprises, including Hunan Hongda Tea and Hunan Xiqing Agriculture, are developing in tandem, cultivating distinctive brands such as "Gaoqiao Yinfeng" and "Xiangbo Green," with an annual output value reaching 100 million yuan. At the same time, by expanding new business models such as village-based e-commerce and the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism, the town continues to revitalize rural industries, injecting strong momentum into rural revitalization. (End)
