Grapes Create the “Sweet” Way to Wealth
In a vineyard in Sangri County, rows of neat grape trellises are filled with green and purple grapes. It is a critical period of fruit setting of grapes at this time. Technicians and workers of the Working Team Asisting Xizang of Hunan Province are busy under the greenhouse, happy for the upcoming harvest.
The Ultra-high Altitude Grape Growing Base in Sangri County was founded in 2011. In recent years, with the financial and technical assistance from Hunan Province, the area of the grape base in Sangri County has increased from 15 mu (1 hectare) in 2011 to 8,500 mu (approximately 567 hectares) at present. Since 2017, it has accumulatively employed workers of more than 90,000 person times and increased the income of people by more than RMB10 million. The income of 10 villages growing grapes has increased by more than RMB12 million.
To make Sangri wine products be sold to places outside Xizang, the Working Team Asisting Xizang of Hunan Province acted as a go-between, and advertised and recommended their products by using platforms including the Wine Investment Fair, China Xizang Tourism and Culture Expo in Lhasa, Beijing Annual Conference of Middle and Small-sized Enterprises, and Investment Promotion Conference. The team also helped the grape growing base to be successfully launched on the Public Service Platform of Consumption Assistance of Hunan Province, forming an integrated online and offline marketing model.
At present, a “sweet industrial chain” of modern agriculture integrating grape growing, grape picking, processing and production of wine, and tourism, leisure, and sightseeing has been formed in Sangri County. In the process of rural revitalization, the grape industry is vigorously developing towards high-end industry, large-scale growing, standardized production, and brand operation.