In Hejiawan Village, Yujiawan Town, Zichang City, Shaanxi Province, vast stretches of standardized apple orchards extend into the distance. The neatly spaced rows of trees display uniform spacing and elegant shapes. White anti-hail nets drape over the branches like silver gauze, while ground cover and straw mulch surround the tree bases. Soft rainwater collection pits and integrated water-fertilization equipment are strategically distributed across the area. What were once scattered and extensively managed slopes have now been transformed into high-standard orchards featuring connected channels, linked pathways, irrigation during droughts, and drainage during floods, creating a striking landscape on the Loess Plateau.
On February 4th, a media delegation visited the area to explore how the "golden fruit" has paved the way for rural revitalization. The apple sales point at the village entrance bustled with activity, with various apple varieties including Venus Golden and Red Fuji neatly displayed for customers. A gift box containing 12 Fuji apples priced at 60 yuan proved particularly popular.
"The apple industry has become the 'golden fruit' for increasing local residents' income, serving as the core pillar for consolidating poverty alleviation achievements and advancing rural revitalization," explained Cao Yaling, a government official who has long supported Hejiawan Village's development. Since 2012, the village has focused on developing mountainous apple cultivation as its leading industry, establishing 1,265 mu of planting bases and benefiting 43 farming households comprising 153 people. By 2025, the village's apple production reached 1,500 tons with an output value of 9 million yuan, achieving per capita apple income exceeding 50,000 yuan for local farmers.
"Farming used to provide limited income, and we lacked capital to develop industries. Since establishing apple orchards with government support, our lives have significantly improved," said Song Xiaoping, a former poverty-stricken householder who earned 160,000 yuan from apple sales this year. Another villager, Yang Sanhu, who cultivates over 40 mu of apples, expanded his operations and introduced new varieties with policy support, seeing his income increase steadily.
To address frequent natural disasters in mountainous cultivation, Hejiawan Village innovatively established a "432" ground-air integrated disaster prevention system. The system employs four methods against frost, three measures against drought, and dual protections against hail, combining technological solutions to safeguard the industry foundation.
Through an "industry + poverty-stricken households" linkage model, the village directly supports 70 households comprising 163 formerly impoverished residents and surrounding communities. Additionally, by leveraging local revolutionary heritage sites, Hejiawan Village explores integrated development of "red tourism + green industry," extending the industrial chain and activating rural endogenous momentum.
The transformation from weather-dependent farming to climate-informed cultivation, and from scattered planting to scaled development, demonstrates how Hejiawan Village's "golden fruit" not only carries farmers' prosperity dreams but also represents a living example of consolidating poverty alleviation achievements and comprehensively promoting rural revitalization on the Loess Plateau.