Over two millennia ago, the poet Qu Yuan penned verses praising the orange's steadfastness, declaring it 'rooted by nature's decree in the southern land.' Today, in Zigui, Hubei, the hometown of this legendary poet, the tradition of orange cultivation continues to thrive along the Three Gorges' banks.

However, this 'immovability' has taken on a new dimension: farmers toiling on the steep mountain slopes no longer bear the burden of hauling oranges on their backs. Instead, technology now carries their fresh produce to global markets. At the citrus core demonstration park in Yandengbao Village, Guojia Town, Zigui County, situated along the upper reaches of the Xiling Gorge, a drone hovered precisely above the trees, dispersing fertilizer under the skilled control of local operator Guo Xingcheng. Guo explained that these drones are versatile, capable of fertilizing, irrigating, and even air-lifting harvested fruit from the fields.

Zigui is celebrated as China's 'Hometown of Navel Oranges,' with its groves predominantly situated on steep slopes at elevations around 600 meters. In the past, cultivation, picking, and transport were entirely manual endeavors. Recalling the arduous process, Guo Xingcheng shared, 'Carrying nearly 100 jin of oranges down the mountain took 40 minutes over a two-kilometer path. Now, a drone can transport them from the hilltop orchard to the roadside collection point in just one minute, moving over 50,000 jin daily. This technology saves us three to four days in getting the oranges from tree to market.'

Guo has since founded a local drone pilot company, which has grown from its initial two members to a team of ten, all young people who have returned home for employment. By the end of 2025, Zigui County boasted 1,050 agricultural drones and a community of over 2,500 licensed pilots. Another innovative sight gracing these orchards is the 'small train' – a monorail system installed amidst the sloped groves. This mechanized transport handles fertilizer, supplies, and fruit, moving up to 600 kilograms of fresh oranges per trip. Together, the aerial drones and ground-level monorails form a complementary transport network, bridging the sky and the land.

Local fruit farmer Wang Hongzhen, who tends a seven-mu orchard, previously relied on hired help for picking and transport, costing around 300 yuan per person per day. 'Now, with greater efficiency, my annual income has risen considerably,' Wang noted with satisfaction. Li Li, an official at the Zigui County Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, highlighted the rapid pace of the modern supply chain. 'Our citrus now goes from being on the tree today, to being in transit tomorrow, to reaching the consumer's palate the day after,' Li said.

The digital transformation of Zigui's orange groves began in 2020. The local government established the Three Gorges Citrus Industry Platform, assigning a digital code to every orange plot. Each orchard now possesses a digital archive containing data on altitude, slope gradient, and tree age. Farmers can access soil-specific fertilizer recommendations generated by the system on their phones. They can also photograph diseased leaves and upload them for instant identification and tailored treatment plans. A large electronic screen, standing amidst the hillside orchards in Yandengbao Village, vividly displays real-time data on citrus growth, remote sensing analysis, IoT metrics, market prices, and agricultural supply oversight.

Qu Yuan once praised the orange for its intermingled hues of green and yellow, calling it 'beautifully blended.' Today, technology is writing a new ode for Zigui, creating a year-round supply of fresh fruit: 'Lunwan in spring, Xia Cheng in summer, Jiuyue Hong in autumn, and Newhall in winter.' The county has also expanded its online sales channels, hosting 5,200 e-commerce enterprises and over 100,000 individuals employed in the digital marketplace, generating annual sales exceeding 6 billion yuan.

According to official county statistics, Zigui's navel orange cultivation now covers 400,000 mu, with an annual output surpassing 1 million tons. From its roots in the Three Gorges reservoir area, the Zigui navel orange travels across China and reaches over 140 countries and regions worldwide.