by Xinhua writers Ren Weidong, Zhang Wenjing, Zhao Jiasong
For northwest China's inlanders, tropical fruits were once an exotic delicacy that had to be shipped from southern provinces like Hainan or from Southeast Asia, but today the fruits grow ripe on the region's arid land.
Ding Hai, 34, built a greenhouse in his hometown, Yinda township in Suzhou District of the city of Jiuquan, Gansu Province, 10 years ago, when he was working at construction sites.
Jiuquan, with most of its area covered by the Gobi Desert, has limited soil and a dry climate, though the long hours of sunshine and the great temperature difference between night and day also protect the area from pests.
Pitaya planted by Ding Hai. (Xinhua/Zhang Wenjing)
Moreover, the abundant light, heat and snowmelt create the perfect growing conditions for plants.
More than 10 years ago, with bumps and hollows on the land and no water or electricity supply, the local government organized construction teams to level the soil and provide basic utilities. Then an agricultural base with over 10 greenhouses was put in place.
As prices of vegetables are always highest in winter, greenhouse vegetables soon became a cash cow for the greenhouse runners in 2011.
"The adoption of substrate soilless culture and effective water-saving technologies can solve the problems of soil and water shortages in vegetable planting, and in addition, the greenhouse can fully utilize light and heat resources and is windproof, so it's feasible to grow vegetables in the Gobi Desert," Ding said.
The local government even provided subsidized loans and technical guidance for the greenhouse runners. As the long-existing problems of insufficient water and soil and high prices of vegetables were dealt with, economic fruit was born in the Gobi Desert, said Li Kai, director of the agriculture and forestry center in Yinda.
Ding Hai and Li Kai is communicating the growing condition of fruits. (Xinhua/Zhang Wenjing)
In 2012, Ding gathered his savings of more than 300,000 yuan (about 42,460 U.S. dollars) to build nine greenhouses and soon reaped the rewards. One year later, he invested 400,000 yuan to build 10 more.
With the scale of greenhouses becoming larger, Ding turned his attention to what other plants he could grow.
Asking around about successful cases of greenhouse planting, he visited a household that got rich by planting peach trees inside greenhouses and was amazed by the splash of brilliant red in the chilly winter's day.
In 2013, Ding made his first attempt to plant peach trees in five of his greenhouses. The following May the peaches grew ripe, with 7.5 tonnes yielded, while in the past, peaches usually hit the local market three months later.
Word of dragon fruits successfully growing in north China then reached Ding's ear.
After searching for useful information, contacting planters in southern Chinese areas and asking for advice from academic institutions, Ding finally decided to plant dragon fruits, bananas, passion fruits and lemons in a greenhouse.
He expanded the planting area in 2015 with the fruits selling well.
Passion fruit planted by Ding Hai. (Xinhua/Zhang Wenjing)
Now Ding has established a cooperative to help employ local farmers in the greenhouses. Zhang Rongxin, a local villager, can earn about 3,000 yuan per month through the scheme.
Now Ding has more than 100 greenhouses and planted 17 varieties of fruits. Last winter, Ding earned a net income of more than 500,000 yuan.
"Technically, planting fruits is not difficult, but it needs very precise management," Ding said, who believes tropical fruits on the Gobi Desert symbolize people's aspirations to live a better life.
As Ding and more pioneers take a leading role, about 1,667 hectares of greenhouses have been built in the Gobi Desert in Suzhou District and people's lives have been sweetened by fruits as well as the booming economy.