In early summer, gentle sunlight bathes the terraced fields, where apple trees are adorned with clusters of pinkish-white blossoms, creating a delightful landscape. Come autumn, the handsome and attractive terraced apples will be distributed nationwide, appearing in supermarkets and fruit exhibitions, earning acclaim and attracting merchants.
Rewinding to 2007, at the 4th China (Shenzhen) International Fruit and Vegetable Exhibition, apples from Zhuanglang County on the Loess Plateau were blind-tested and evaluated by national fruit and vegetable experts organized by the China Fruit Marketing Association. They were recognized and named "China Famous Fruit." The expert panel noted that Zhuanglang apples have a dignified and plump shape, a deep red and handsome color, a smooth and delicate skin, crisp, tender, and juicy flesh, a small and compact core, and a pleasantly sweet and sour taste. The title "China Famous Fruit" represents the top honor in China's fruit industry. This accolade signifies that Zhuanglang apples have entered the top tier of the nation's premium fruit products. The label serves as the most authoritative quality endorsement for Zhuanglang apples issued by the China Fruit Marketing Association.
Following this achievement, apple marketers and investors from across the country flocked to Zhuanglang County to investigate how it produces nationally renowned, high-quality apples.
Premium Apples Originate from Optimal Growing Regions Just as oranges thrive south of the Huai River but turn bitter north of it, premium apples also require optimal growing conditions. The latitude range between 33°N and 40°N is considered the most suitable for apple cultivation. In China, these optimal regions are primarily located in the Loess Plateau, the Bohai Bay area, the old course of the Yellow River, and the southwestern high-altitude cool zones. Situated on the Loess Plateau, Zhuanglang County is designated by the state as one of China's best apple-growing regions. Furthermore, the 35°N parallel is globally recognized as the core of the apple "golden belt" for premium cultivation. Zhuanglang County lies between 35.07°N and 35.45°N.
Leveraging this prime location, the Zhuanglang County Forestry and Grassland Bureau has repeatedly invited experts from the National Apple Industry Technology System to conduct on-site measurements and assessments of various indicators in the county, including latitude, altitude, climate, soil, ecology, and phenology. Comparative analysis revealed that Zhuanglang's metrics surpass the national standards for optimal apple-growing regions. Experts concluded that the county possesses exceptional natural conditions, making it one of the few premier core production areas for high-quality apples in China.
Cultivating premium apples requires a green production environment. In developing its apple industry, Zhuanglang County focuses on building its brand of organic terraced apples, which necessitates a sound agricultural environment. Consequently, after successfully establishing a provincial-level "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains Are Invaluable Assets" practice and innovation base in Gansu, the county continued its efforts to create a national-level base of the same name. This ensures that the organic terraced apples grow in a pristine environment of clear water, blue skies, and clean soil.
The apple industry is labor-intensive. Every stage of production, from orchard to table, requires significant manual labor to keep the entire supply chain running smoothly. With a total population of 440,000, Zhuanglang is a major county for labor export in Gansu Province, boasting a surplus labor force of 120,000. This readily available workforce can meet the labor demands of apple production and contribute to producing nationally recognized, high-quality apples.
For Zhuanglang apples to reach consumers nationwide, a well-developed transportation network is essential. The county has an extensive rural road network, with all administrative villages connected by cement-hardened roads, allowing apples to be transported out by vehicle. Townships are linked by asphalt roads, facilitating easy access to urban markets. The Pingliang-Tianshui and Jingning-Tianshui expressways intersect within Zhuanglang County, providing high-speed road connections in all four cardinal directions. This enables the swift distribution of Zhuanglang apples to markets across the country.
Premium Apples Are Meticulously Cultivated "A good apple is the result of meticulous cultivation." This statement by Ma Lei, Deputy Director of the Fruit Tree and Fruit Research Institute at the Zhuanglang County Forestry and Grassland Center, captures the essence of how the county produces its "China Famous Fruit": by fully leveraging the natural advantages of being a premier core production area, continuously improving cultivation techniques, and steadily increasing material inputs.
Variety determines quality and is a crucial factor in cultivating premium apples. What apple varieties are suitable for cultivation in Zhuanglang County at 35°N? In 2003, the county identified apples as its leading industry and began large-scale construction of apple bases. It introduced varieties such as Golden Delicious and Qinguan from Shaanxi Province, and Fuji series varieties like Nagafu No. 2 and Yanfu No. 3 from Shandong Province. After years of cultivation and improvement, the short-branch Fuji series was retained as the main cultivar in Zhuanglang due to its attractive appearance, sweet and crisp taste, firm texture, good storage and transport qualities, and favorable pricing. Simultaneously, the county has introduced new superior varieties like Qincui, Ruixue, and Venus Gold. Currently, Zhuanglang's apple cultivation area spans 650,000 mu (approximately 43,333 hectares), with 450,000 mu (30,000 hectares) being fruit-bearing orchards.
Planting models have been continuously optimized. Since 2003, in collaboration with the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhuanglang County has implemented demonstration projects for improving quality and efficiency in terraced apple orchards in areas like the northern mountainous region of Zhudian Town. These projects promote high-light-efficiency tall spindle tree forms and high-yield dwarf dense planting models, driving innovation in the county's orchard cultivation practices. The transition from large-canopy open-center or free spindle shapes to the tall spindle shape improves ventilation and provides more充足 sunlight. This allows apples to produce more sugars through photosynthesis, enhancing sweetness and ensuring even fruit coloration. The shift from large-canopy sparse planting or traditional dwarf dense planting to trellis-supported dwarf dense planting has increased the number of trees per mu from 44 to 167, moving from sparse to dense planting. The average yield per mu has risen to 5,200 jin (approximately 2,600 kg). Ma Ming, Deputy Director of the Forestry, Fruit, and Flower Research Institute at the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, stated, "Currently, in terms of tree form management and planting model innovation, the apple orchards in the northern mountainous area of Zhudian Town represent the most standardized orchards in Northwest China."
Building a core production area requires strong leading enterprises for support and guidance. Gansu Demei Diyuan Modern Agricultural Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Gansu Demei Group") is a national key leading enterprise in agricultural industrialization recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. In 2022, Zhuanglang County introduced Gansu Demei Group, which established a 1,200-mu (80-hectare) high-tech apple industry demonstration park in Wanquan Town and an 1,800-mu (120-hectare) dwarf dense planting smart apple orchard in Yangchuan Town. These facilities promote new superior apple varieties like Qincui, Ruixue, and Venus Gold, and demonstrate advanced orchard management technologies such as trellis-supported dwarf dense planting, deep application of sheep manure organic fertilizer, drip irrigation with water-soluble micronutrient fertilizers, planting and tilling leguminous plants as green manure, and using frost prevention fans. Gansu Demei Group also invested in building the Zhuanglang County High-Quality Apple Seedling Virus-Free Cultivation Center, filling a gap in the seedling propagation segment of Zhuanglang's apple industry chain and extending its length.
Premium Apples Are Also Meticulously Selected Apple production is essentially a process of elimination. From flowering to harvesting, apples are continuously selected, with only the finest ones being carefully chosen in the end. The concept of grading and selling apples based on quality is deeply ingrained among Zhuanglang's fruit growers. Farmers conduct initial sorting at the orchard, separating marketable fruit from defective fruit. Defective fruit is sent to juice production lines. Zhuanglang County has established a Gonghe fruit vinegar production line and an apple organic juice production line in Shuoluo Town. These two lines process approximately 33,000 tons of defective fruit annually.
The marketable fruit from the initial orchard sorting undergoes further细分 based on color depth and fruit diameter size before being stored in controlled atmosphere (CA) storage facilities, ultimately undergoing智能分选. Intelligent sorting is essentially a form of initial apple processing. The apple sorting line at Zhuanglang Xueyuan Agricultural Product Supply Chain Co., Ltd. is the largest and most technologically advanced intelligent sorting line in the county. At the feeding inlet of the sorting line, a forklift gently lowers apples into a water tank on the production line. The apples float forward automatically with the water flow. After processes like cleaning and air-drying, the line uses智能拍照 to capture data for each apple regarding color, shape, weight, sugar content, and defects. Based on this data, apples are then directed to 35 different workstations for final manual sorting, labeling, and boxing.
Currently, driven by the intelligent sorting line at Zhuanglang Xueyuan Agricultural Product Supply Chain Co., Ltd., the county has established a total of 5 automated apple sorting lines, capable of processing over 200,000 tons of apples annually through automated sorting.
It is understood that key parameter indicators in the national fresh apple testing standard include: fruit firmness (≥6.0 kg/cm²), sugar content (≥12.0%), and total acid content (between 0.2% and 0.6%). Based on these parameters, apples are classified into three grades: Premium, First Grade, and Second Grade. The Zhuanglang County Forestry and Grassland Bureau organized technical teams to collect apple samples from 14 orchard townships across the county. They tested key data such as fruit firmness, sugar content, and total acid content, and sent the samples to higher-level authoritative departments for复核核准. The results showed that Zhuanglang apples have a firmness of 10–12 kg/cm², a sugar content of 14.5%–16.5%, and a total acid content of 0.2%–0.3%. Compared to the national fresh apple testing standard, the quality indices of Zhuanglang apples not only全部 meet the national Premium grade standard but also surpass those of apples from other production regions.
High-quality fruit brings荣誉. Well-established merchants from across the country distribute Zhuanglang apples to large supermarkets in regions like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, the Yangtze River Delta, and Sichuan-Chongqing. The annual output value of Zhuanglang's entire apple industry chain reaches 6 billion yuan. By participating in national agricultural product festivals and exhibitions, Zhuanglang apples speak through their quality, garnering continuous praise: hailed as "China Famous Fruit," selected as one of China's Top 10 Most Popular Apple Regional Public Brands, and recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs as a product with geographical indication protection.
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