Sea buckthorn in the city of Datong [Photo/shanxi.gov.cn] 

In Zuoyun county in the city of Datong in August, a farmer named Zhang Hong was busy caring for his sea buckthorn trees, which serve as his family's main source of annual income. 

"The county subsidizes farmers who grow sea buckthorn and arranges for technical personnel to guide sea buckthorn growing and management. We can even receive dividends when sea buckthorn sells well in the market," said Zhang.

Zuoyun county is one of the largest sea buckthorn-growing and production areas in Shanxi province. It boasts nearly 6,000 hectares of natural and artificially planted sea buckthorn trees, increasing hope for rural revitalization. 

Chen Bin, Party secretary of the county's Zhangjiachang township, said that in recent years, Zuoyun has sought new ways of combining ecological governance and rural revitalization by developing its sea buckthorn industry into a leading industry to expand ecological resources, promote rural revitalization, and increase farmers' incomes. 

The county has added 1,466 ha of sea buckthorn trees, transformed over 666 ha of wild sea buckthorn trees, and built four sea buckthorn plantations and demonstration areas, each covering an area of around 66 ha, as well as 14 sea buckthorn plantations, each covering an area of around 53 ha.

More than 2,000 farming households in 35 villages in eight townships and towns in Zuoyun county have introduced new varieties of sea buckthorn.

In addition, rural professional cooperatives, large business owners, and leading enterprises have signed farming agreements with village authorities. After the sea buckthorn trees enter the fruit-bearing period, sea buckthorn land is managed intensively by each village collective or adopts a trusteeship method whereby farmers can enjoy dividends in the form of land shares. 

Yunzhong Zisai Co, a local enterprise involved in the R&D, production, and sale of sea buckthorn products, has signed purchase contracts with more than 720 farming households in the county, and the average income per mu (0.07 ha) for farmers can exceed 12,000 yuan ($1,851.14).