Golden autumn has brought a bountiful harvest to the orchards, with the fragrant aroma of mountain pears filling the air. Currently, the high-altitude honey-sweet pears from Baofeng Temple Village in Zhongying Township, Binchuan County, have entered their peak harvesting and sales season. The branches are heavy with plump, emerald-green fruit, and this locally renowned premium variety—celebrated for its thin skin, juicy flesh, smooth texture, and rich honey-like sweetness—has quickly won over the market, adding a touch of harvest sweetness to the autumn countryside.
The buyer Wang Shulei is currently showing the newly purchased honey-sweet pears to his customers via video, praising their quality. "One gentle bite and the juices burst out immediately. A refreshing sweetness floods your mouth, leaving a lingering honeyed fragrance," he says. Having worked in fresh fruit sales for many years, he was thoroughly impressed after visiting the orchard in person. He notes that consumers today prefer naturally grown, eco-friendly fruit, and the honey-sweet pear's exceptional taste stands out. He first discovered this specialty fruit through platforms like Douyin and news sites. Now, by using live-streaming and short videos for real-time promotion, along with full traceability for quality control, he ships the pears to supermarkets and community groups in Shandong, Tianjin, and Hubei, introducing this pristine mountain fruit to customers far and wide.
Li Shujun, a local buyer who has been purchasing pears from the village for three consecutive years, is a regular customer. He explains, "To build a strong reputation and open up the market, I've been wholesaling at cost in Kunming and Baoshan. Last year, I bought over 40,000 jin (20,000 kg), and the market feedback keeps improving. This year, I plan to purchase 300,000 jin (150,000 kg)." He also highlights the fruit's unique characteristics: "Honey-sweet pears have thin skin and don't travel well. They have a short shelf life, so they must be picked and shipped immediately once ripe to lock in the original flavor and protect both taste and reputation."
Located in a high-altitude mountainous area, Baofeng Temple Village enjoys abundant sunlight and a significant temperature difference between day and night. The fertile, unpolluted forest soil provides an ideal environment for cultivating honey-sweet pears. Unlike the bland sweetness of ordinary pears, the flesh of the honey-sweet pear carries a pure and rich natural honey aroma, which is exactly how it got its name. The trees grow naturally, bearing fruit at their own pace, and mature fully before harvest. The villagers adhere to traditional farming practices—no pesticides, no artificial ripening, no waxing, and zero chemical residue. Every single pear accumulates a full measure of fruity fragrance and honeyed sweetness, making it a true ecological treasure of the mountains. When you take a bite, the thin, tender skin gives way to snow-white, delicate flesh, and the juice rushes out in an instant, refreshingly sweet with a long-lasting honeyed finish.
Villager Han Shiqiang shares, "Due to climate changes this year, production has dropped somewhat, but the pears ripened earlier and are sweeter than in previous years. Our family's output this year is around 170,000-180,000 jin (85,000-90,000 kg). At an average wholesale price of about 2 yuan per jin, we expect to add more than 300,000 yuan in income." According to reports, Baofeng Temple Village's total honey-sweet pear production this year is estimated to exceed 6 million jin (3,000 tons). So far, over 50,000 jin (25 tons) have been harvested, and the subsequent picking, sorting, and sales processes are proceeding in an orderly manner. Each sweet, juicy pear not only decorates the autumn mountain landscape but also supports the villagers' thriving industry, injecting lasting vitality into the rural revitalization of the area.