Jinyuan district in Taiyuan city -- capital of China's North Shanxi province -- will develop an agricultural demonstration area in the southern suburbs this year by focusing on 18 agricultural industrial projects, according to local officials. 

According to the plan, the district will lay out and build an efficient agricultural industrial belt, a featured fruit industrial belt, a flower theme-town industrial park, a Jinci rice industrial park and a greenhouse vegetable industrial park. 

Efficient agricultural industrial belt

Officials said the district will complete construction of 2 square kilometers of provincial high-standard farmland in the local Beishao and Zaoyuantou villages, implement an efficient and water-saving irrigation project in local farmlands covering over 0.66 sq km and establish cole flower fields for sightseeing, covering 0.4 sq km. 

Featured fruit industrial belt

The district will plant over 0.66 sq km of Yulu pears, strawberries and cherries. A total of 10 orchards, like the 0.1-sq-km cherry orchard in Dongjie village, will also be built. 

Flower themed-town industrial park

Officials said the district will support expansion and development of local leading businesses in the in the flower industry -- such as Kangpei Group and Shanxi Meizhi Gardening Co. It will also cultivate and expand the flower markets, such as the Zhenhua Horticulture, Xinlongteng and Sentai markets. 

It will attract flower companies from inside and outside Shanxi province to settle in the flower themed-town industrial park, as well as guide enterprises, institutions and agricultural research institutes to establish experimental flower fields. 

It also plans to develop the local Shanxi Flower Trade Center into the province's biggest flower distribution center -- integrating online and offline development -- and transform Zhenhua Horticulture's rose base into Shanxi province's largest greenhouse rose production facility by adding a 0.038-sq-km modern intelligent greenhouse.

Meanwhile, there will be a chrysanthemum development and another involving Populus Canadensis in the flower themed-town industrial park. 

Jinci rice industrial park

The district will plant 0.66 sq km of Jinci rice in Sanjia, Wanhuabu, Changxiang, and Dongzhuang villages. It will develop a Jinci rice farmland-based cultural tourism project and improve processing and packaging of Jinci rice by building a new plant covering 1,172 sq m.

In addition, the district will advance the certification of "Jinci Rice" as a national geographical indication protection product, to build up a regional agricultural specialty brand.

Greenhouse vegetable industrial park

Taking the provincial greenhouse vegetable park in Beihexia village as an example, Jinyuan district will add high-standard greenhouse vegetable production bases covering more than 0.66 sq km on both sides of Gucheng Avenue.

The district will also reconstruct the 0.2-sq-km mushroom base in Nanzhang village and establish lotus and lotus root planting bases in Suocun, Sanjia, Dongzhuang villages.