Every morning at 3:00 am, the Zhengchang fruit wholesale market is lit up by numerous flashlights. Nearly all the fruit retailers in Kunming, Yunnan province, come here to stock fresh fruit.

The wholesalers and retailers start their work at such early hours because of a local traffic rule-trucks are not allowed in downtown area during the daytime. It also helps guarantee the freshness of fruit especially strawberries and cherries that cannot be stored for long time.

Fruit retailers select loquats in the light of a flashlight before the dawn in Zhengchang fruit wholesale market in Kunming, Yunnan province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Zhengchang fruit market is the largest fruit wholesale market in Yunnan and the only one in Kunming. More than 90 percent of fruit sold in Kunming comes from this market. In 2014, the total transactions in the market amounted to 8 billion yuan ($1.3 billion).

Kunming is also a center of imported tropical fruits. The opening of the Kunming-Bangkok Expressway shortens the travel time to one or two days from neighboring Southeast Asian countries. The fruits are then transported to all over China.

Fruit wholesalers wait for their customers. [Photo/Xinhua]

By Shi Zihan and edited by Mevlut Katik