Farmers harvest mangoes in Yanbian county, Sichuan province, earlier this year. (WANG YUHAO/FOR CHINA DAILY) Growing from seven households under a tree, Panzhihua in southwestern Sichuan province has grown to become home of the country's first integrated large-sized iron and steel enterprise, covering an area of 2.5 square kilometers in Southwest China, and is now dubbed a "heroic city".
With a population of 1.2 million consisting of 42 ethnic groups, the prefecture-level city now administers three districts (Xiqu, Dongqu and Renhe) and two counties (Miyi and Yanbian), and is working to lift farmer incomes through specialty agriculture and good operations. Mayor Fan Jiyue promised in January to increase the per capita disposable income of rural residents this year by at least 7 percent year-on-year, with the city's output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery reaching 14.
276 billion yuan ($1.96 billion) in the first three quarters, an annual hike of 4.2 percent.
"Our city focuses on three aspects — improving the quality of agricultural industries, creating beautiful and livable rural areas, and increasing farmers' incomes and wealth," said Long Yong, a vice-mayor, adding: "We aim to make their specialty agriculture 'thrive', the rural environment 'beautiful', and farmers' pockets 'full'." Boosting specialty agriculture is a priority, said Li Bin, director of the city's agriculture and rural affairs bureau, noting that the largest strawberry base in Zh.
