Grapes drive NW China economy

The harvest season for Dunhuang's 11,000 hectares of grapes is approaching, said Li Jinyin, the vice-mayor of Dunhuang city. The tourist city in Gansu, known for its Mogao Grottoes, is also one of the eight major grape-producing regions in the country.

Grape cultivation has become one of the leading economic growth points in Dunhuang, with annual output value of 1 billion yuan ($160 million), according to official statistics.

Grape cultivation accounts for 40 percent of total cultivated land in the city, and annual output of grape can reach 200,000 tons, with 95 percent of the grapes sold outside Dunhuang.

The booming grape industry has benefited many farmers, whose per capita income reached 8,416 yuan last year. A villager called Wang Jianguo said, "My annual revenue has risen sharply since I started growing grapes in 1999. I used to earn several thousand yuan a year from growing cotton and now I can earn more than 10,000 yuan for every 0.07 hectares of grape land."

"We need to do more work in improving quality so as to vitalize the market," said Liu Shenghu, the director of Dunhuang forestry technology popularization center.

In order to publicize grapes, Dunhuang will hold the 6th Dunhuang Grape Cultural Festival from Sept 6-8, which will host the grape development seminar and Dunhuang grape cultural exhibition will take place.

Edited by Andrew Ancheta