A recent announcement by the China Association for the Promotion of Rural Technology has brought good news to Taishun County, as the Wen Zhizi (Warm Gardenia) Science and Technology Backyard, operated by Zhejiang Kanghong Biotechnology Co., Ltd., made the list. This marks the second national-level science and technology backyard in the county, following the recognition of the Taishun Chinese Bee Science and Technology Backyard. In the production workshop at Kanghong, one block of gardenia flower cold-processed soap requires nearly 600 blossoms, undergoes 19 distinct steps, and ferments at low temperatures for up to 159 days before completion. Just a few years ago, the same gardenia flowers were left to rot in the fields due to a lack of market demand.
This transformation extends beyond a single flower. Last year, Taishun’s county-wide R&D expenditure surged by 49.03%. In the first seven months of this year, investments in high-tech industries jumped by 46.4% year-on-year. On a playing field where other regions often excel, this mountainous county has carved out its own unique path. But how does a county with no universities and a relatively small industrial base pursue technological development? Where should the funds be directed, where do the talents come from, and how are the results applied to the local economy?
Selecting a Niche on the Mountainside
What is the primary challenge for a mountainous region aiming to develop technology? "For us, this isn't a matter of choice; it's a matter of survival," says a representative from Nabai Chuan, a local enterprise. The company is currently debugging a new production line and calculates that with difficulties in attracting talent and high logistics costs, product differentiation is not just an option but a necessity for viability. With only 27 high-tech enterprises in the entire county, how can it effectively foster innovation? "Find the right track, and we can still compete," argues Zhu Liuling, a Party Group member of the Taishun Science and Technology Bureau. She believes Taishun shouldn't compare its scale with industrialized counties but rather compete on who understands the specific needs and scenarios of mountainous areas best.
A prime example of understanding the local context is the observatory built in Xiuxibian Village, Sankui Town. The ultra-high-precision fiber-optic gyroscope and star tracker field tests require darkness and minimal stray light, which are near-impossible to find in bustling cities but readily available in the mountains. Through the efforts of Zhang Qingtian, a Taishun entrepreneur who returned to his hometown, a research team led by Professor Zhang Chunxi from the School of Instrumentation Science and Opto-electronics Engineering at Beihang University made multiple visits to Taishun. Three years ago, the Beihang University Optoelectronic Technology Research Institute's Taishun Laboratory was established, and its test results have since been applied to several major national engineering projects.
The same principle of local problem-solving is applied to the dairy industry. Five years ago, Zhejiang Zhongxing Animal Husbandry, in collaboration with Zhejiang University and Yiming Food, co-founded the Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory for Dairy Cattle Genetic Improvement and Milk Quality Research. The goal was to address the issue of shortened lactation periods and low reproduction rates in southern China’s hot, humid climate, tackling the problem directly on southern pastures. Three years after the lab was set up in Taishun, the on-farm Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) center achieved an impressive national review score of 83.7, the highest among its peers. In January of this year, the laboratory was upgraded to a key laboratory under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and its demonstration base for transforming results is now located in Taishun's core breeding farms. The key takeaway is that technology in the mountains must be practical and grounded.
Bringing Experts into the Workshops
Once the right niche is chosen, how can momentum be sustained? The answer lies in continuously cultivating and attracting tech talent. If experts won't come to the mountains, then the county must create opportunities to bring the roles to them, and the "Deputy Chief Technology Officer" program is a key breakthrough. Dr. Sun Wei, a provincial-level "Deputy CTO" stationed at Taixin Electronics, dove deep into the workshop to solve a challenge in designing precision micro-springs for miniature vibration sensors. This involved using micron-level photolithography to create palm-sized precision products and setting up a fully automated production line, adding over ten million yuan in annual benefits for the enterprise. These "Deputy CTOs" don't occupy formal staffing quotas or receive salaries; they focus on solving frontline technical issues and converting results on-site. Taishun has selected 18 such individuals, with a 100% renewal rate.
The "Science and Technology Special Commissioner" program represents the other key team. Dr. Zhou Wei from Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, a provincial specialist, has been rooted in Taishun for 13 years. At Wenzhou Zhongji Biotechnology Co., he has helped build a 40,000-square-meter smart seedling greenhouse and created a complete chain of planting, R&D, processing, and sales across a 2,250-mu traditional Chinese medicine base. In Baoyang Township, Associate Professor Wang Changchun from Zhejiang Normal University has moved his classroom into the greenhouses. During the summer tomato planting season, he would start work in the fields at 5:30 in the morning, helping villagers transport nutrient-rich soil using electric tricycles. The act of reversing through narrow greenhouse doors next to deep ditches led to a neck and shoulder injury that took nearly two months to heal. He has successfully led villagers in boosting tomato yields across a 20-mu trial field. When asked if it's worth it for a university teacher to spend time in greenhouses instead of writing papers, he argues that his research is best written in the fields, with increased farmer income serving as the most compelling data.
In Yayang Town, Dr. Kang Huajing from the Wenzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences took local tea companies on study trips to Yunnan, Fujian, and Guangdong. This led to the creation of a storable "Taishun local tea" and the development of a compressed yellow tea through new withering, rolling, kill-green, yellowing, and baking processes. By signing contracts to purchase tea leaves, they found a new use for summer and autumn tea leaves that were previously abandoned. This initiative has increased the average income per mu by over 1,000 yuan across more than 3,000 mu of tea gardens and created employment for over 500 people, effectively turning the old "three months of busy work" season into year-round tea production. The newly established Wen Zhizi Science and Technology Backyard, co-built by Zhejiang A&F University, Wenzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, science associations at various levels, and Pengxi Town, aims for direct interaction between experts and farmers, research and production, and education and employment.
Rooting the Results in Local Industries
The biggest worry for mountainous regions is that technology developed locally will be commercialized elsewhere. Zhejiang Kanghong Biotechnology has chosen to keep the entire value chain within the county. In Xiguan Village, Pengxi Town, there are over 2,000 mu of gardenia flowers. The village, in partnership with Kanghong, has organized 12 companies and over 50 large-scale growers, implementing a price index insurance and protective purchase mechanism. As a result, gardenia fruit prices have risen to as high as 9 yuan per jin, and flower prices to over 30 yuan per jin, benefiting over 300 households with an average annual income increase of 50,000 yuan. To transform these stable raw materials into high-value products, Kanghong has collaborated with 8 research institutes to solve the "short shelf life of gardenia flowers" problem, developing over 60 products, including cold-process soap, and consuming more than 500 tons of flowers and fruits annually.
Taishun is providing further support to ensure success. The county has assembled a health industry support team comprising 9 university professors and 4 industry experts to assist Kanghong in its research on gardenia raw material development. They have identified 7 technology breakthroughs and transformation needs, established 5 key cooperation projects, and linked with 6 universities and institutes, including Zhejiang Chinese Medical University and Zhejiang University of Technology. This has led to 3 breakthroughs in core gardenia extraction technologies and the application of 2 results. Today, Kanghong has secured 24 independent intellectual property rights, and the added value of its gardenia products has increased by over 300%. The longer the value chain, the more benefits stay within the mountains. Currently, Taishun's annual yellow gardenia production has reached over 6,000 tons, supporting a 250-million-yuan eco-cosmetics industry cluster and driving income growth for over 2,000 growers. The adjacent Zhè-Mǐn border gardenia tourism festival has attracted over 100,000 visitors, generating 50 million yuan for the regional tourism sector.
The infrastructure for accepting and nurturing technological transformation is also expanding. At 10 incubation platforms, including the Taiyuehu Zhichuang Science Park and Daan Science Park, there is 190,000 square meters of space hosting 276 enterprises and 2,100 tech professionals. In the first half of this year alone, an additional 85,500 square meters of incubation space was added, along with 58 new enterprises and 549 new tech professionals. Under the leadership of the Taishun Science and Technology Innovation Center, these platforms, equipment, and services are converging into a powerful river. From the observatory in the Sankui Town valley to the cold-process soap in the Pengxi Town workshop; from the field experts planting seeds of knowledge to the incubation spaces birthing new products, the technological wave sweeping through these mountains is ultimately about one thing: first understanding the mountain, then using technology to solve its problems. The mountain remains the same, but with a new approach, the yields and outcomes are fundamentally different.