In Kuoshitograk Village, Yigan Township, Aksu City, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, cold chain transport vehicles are lined up ready for departure. Fruit farmer Hou Guangda loads boxes of apples onto trucks with a beaming smile: "Our apples are of excellent quality with broad market reach, and these cold chain vehicles can deliver directly to destinations nationwide."

Such scenes are now common throughout the north and south of Tianshan Mountains. Leveraging exceptional water, soil, light, and heat resources, along with a long cultivation history and continuously innovative planting techniques and management concepts, Xinjiang's fruit industry is entering a new stage of high-quality development. Today in Xinjiang, the fruit industry has become a green industry with wide coverage, benefiting a large population with tremendous development potential, serving as a pillar industry for farmers' income growth. Xinjiang is transitioning from a "major fruit region" to a "strong fruit region."

Red dates rank first nationally in production, grapes maintain the top position, apricots lead the country, and almonds dominate the market... Xinjiang presents a distinctive "large fruit basket" to the nation that is deeply loved by consumers.

In terms of industrial layout, Xinjiang has formed a mature "one zone, three belts" system: including the advantageous fruit production area around the Tarim Basin, the Turpan-Hami Basin specialty industrial belt, the Ili River Valley and Irtysh River regional specialty industrial belt, and the northern Tianshan Mountains specialty fruit industrial belt. Through moderate introduction of new plum, aprium, cherry, and other premium new varieties, Xinjiang has further extended the fruit marketing period and optimized variety structure, achieving year-round "fragrant melons and fruits" and developing the capability for uninterrupted annual fruit supply.

In Yongku Unity Village, Qiman Township, Kuqa City, fragrant pear grower Jibireli Luoheman said: "The village promotes new varieties, and technicians regularly guide pruning and fertilizing. The quality of fragrant pears has improved, and prices have risen accordingly." Currently, the village has established large-scale planting bases and promoted standardized and branded fragrant pear cultivation through technical training.

Not only in Kuqa, various regions in Xinjiang are revitalizing numerous old orchards through standardized measures. Meanwhile, the entire region has conducted over 50,000 technical training sessions, training more than 3.8 million farmers and technical personnel, significantly improving overall orchard management levels.

Technology is injecting new momentum into the traditional fruit industry. At Wensu National Agricultural Science and Technology Park, drones precisely spray biological pesticides, while underground sensor equipment provides real-time soil moisture and temperature data. The "Internet + Agriculture" system has achieved digital management throughout the entire fruit growth cycle, substantially improving fruit standardization levels.

Beyond the orchards, the value-added journey has just begun.

In the production workshop of Aksu Jinwulian E-commerce Co., Ltd., apples undergo washing, peeling, slicing, and low-temperature drying to become crispy apple chips. The company has built six intelligent production lines with an annual processing capacity of 70,000 tons of fruit and vegetable raw materials, developing over 100 products including freeze-dried apples, concentrated fruit juice, and fruit wine, continuously extending the industrial chain and enhancing added value.

Currently, Xinjiang has cultivated over 70 leading fruit processing enterprises and more than 2,000 professional cooperatives, developing over 180 deep-processing products such as walnut oil and sea buckthorn essence. The fruit industry has evolved from single fresh fruit sales to multi-format integration.

Quality fruits also require smooth sales channels. Xinjiang actively constructs online and offline integrated networks, having hosted four China Xinjiang Specialty Fruit Products Expos and repeatedly organized enterprises to participate in various agricultural product exhibitions in other provinces.

How to sell Yengisar apricots with only a seven-day freshness period to broader markets? Since 2018, Shandong's aid to Xinjiang has implemented the "Major Warehouse Eastward Movement" project, establishing Kashgar specialty agricultural product storage, preservation, and distribution centers in multiple Shandong locations, helping Kashgar region solve difficulties such as "difficult to leave Xinjiang" and "expensive to leave Xinjiang" for specialty agricultural products. Since 2018, the project has cumulatively facilitated the sale of 311,000 tons of Kashgar specialty agricultural products outside Xinjiang.

With strong support from the paired assistance mechanism, production-sales connection projects such as "Major Warehouse Eastward Movement," "Ten Cities, Hundred Stores," and "Xinjiang Fruits Eastward" have been steadily advanced, continuously expanding eastern markets.

E-commerce platforms have further expanded Xinjiang fruit sales scope. As of now, Xinjiang's annual external fruit sales account for 80% of total annual fruit production, with Xinjiang fruit brand influence continuously improving.

The fruit industry has become an important pillar for benefiting people's livelihoods and rural revitalization. By the end of 2024, the entire region's fruit industry has benefited 5.5 million fruit farmers, with fruit income in main fruit-producing areas accounting for nearly 30% of farmers' per capita disposable income, and some regions even exceeding 60%.

Small fruits have truly "chained up" a wealth-generating major industry. From traditional orchards to intelligent factories, from offline exhibitions to cloud orders, from Xinjiang local markets to global markets—Xinjiang fruits are writing a transformative story from big to strong.