Visitors pick up hawthorn berries in Lihongshui village, Donghui town, in Yangquan city, on Oct 19. [Photo/yqnews.com.cn] 

Hundreds of visitors were attracted to Lihongshui village, a mountain village in Yangquan city, due to its cultural performances and the fun of helping out with the harvest during the village's fourth hawthorn picking festival which opened on Oct 18. 

Over 40 kilometers away from Pingding county in Yangquan city, Lihongshui village was once an undeveloped remote area with 69 out of 195 households living under the poverty line.

According to villagers, the hawthorn berries in the village used to rot on the trees during the harvest season due to poor sales channels -- despite dozens of hectares of hawthorn trees growing in the mountains. 

Things began to change in recent years when the village started large-scale processing of forsythia tea, as well as raising bees and black pigs with help of a local cooperative. The village's hawthorn trees covering 40 hectares have since benefitted from good, practical  management.

By developing a special agricultural industry and building a rural brand, the organic hawthorn berry has become a signature product of Lihongshui village, with sales of other agricultural specialties becoming growing too, according to local officials. 

In 2018, the village picked and sold 50,000 kilograms of hawthorn berries and earned 80,000 yuan ($11,297). 

"Over the past few years, forsythia and hawthorns have become money-spinners for the village through online and offline marketing," said Zhai Yuming, Party chief of Lihongshui village. 

Currently, Lihongshui village has successfully expanded its hawthorn berry harvesting and processing. Next, the village plans to organize more various agri-tourism events and cultural creative activities targeting tourists. These will include hawthorn berry cake making and rural homestays, to make the hawthorn picking festival more attractive and further promote the village's profile.