April is the perfect time for planting in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Inspired villagers in Miaomiaohu village held a desert vegetable planting match.
The villagers have gradually grown into "experts" in growing vegetables after eight years of relocation. This year, they plan to plant 3,000 mu (200 hectares) of cool-season vegetables in their open fields.
As the tractor loaded with the trays of vegetable seedlings pulled over at the roadside, villagers took a few trays of seedlings, rushed into the sand, and began to plant and compete for speed and quality.
Miaomiaohu village, Pingluo county in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region is located on the edge of the Maowusu Desert, which is full of sunshine and has few pests and diseases.
Over the years, the county has improved the sandy wasteland on border of the Maowusu Desert, utilizing the natural advantages of large temperature differences between day and night and sufficient sunshine to grow cool-season vegetables. The problem of employment and income increase of local immigrants has been addressed through a three-part model of enterprises, cooperatives and farmer households.
The vegetable growing competition adopted a pay-for-work method. Villager Ma Youhua said that three rows of seedlings planted for 100 meters could gain 25 yuan ($3.93) while six rows of seedlings planted for 100 meters was worth 50 yuan. Villager Ma Dongmei said that the more seedlings are planted, the more income will be earned.
Video by Si Bingxin, Wang Gang, Duan Bo and Zheng Bin
