This pilot series dives into the frontlines of Yinchuan's modern commerce and trade initiative, unveiling innovative approaches to distribution and sharing experiences from local firms on upgrading their trade operations. Today, we spotlight Ningxia West Land Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd., a local agricultural enterprise with 16 years of experience, to see how it has revamped its logistics and distribution center to create a two-way flow between rural areas and cities, bringing regional gems like Tan lamb, long dates, and wolfberries from farms to city tables.

With the boost from the pilot program, the company invested 5.3632 million yuan to comprehensively upgrade its 1,512-square-meter distribution hall. The newly renovated space features a clean production environment meeting the standard of 10,000-grade cleanliness, with clearly designated operational zones that handle precise lamb processing, produce sorting and repacking, vacuum freeze-drying, and packaging supply storage. This setup allows for a seamless, closed-loop process encompassing everything from initial harvest collection at the source and sorting to deep processing and final retail sale.

Supporting this, a new three-temperature intelligent cold storage facility has been put into operation, with dedicated zones for quick freezing, meat aging, and finished goods. Freshly slaughtered Tan lamb can be moved into the aging unit for proper conditioning, while harvested long dates and wolfberries are promptly stored to maintain their freshness. Different products now get customized storage temperatures, satisfying the needs of premium processing and laying the groundwork for these goods to meet international export standards, essentially earning them a pass to broader markets.

The revamped distribution center ensures cold-chain control is maintained throughout the entire process of pre-cooling, aging, storage, and deep processing. This has achieved a 100% cold-chain logistics rate for both produce and meat, tackling the age-old challenge of selling seasonal products year-round and extending both their marketable shelf life and reach. Internally, the facility has launched 500 standardized pallets and 2,000 food-grade totes to encourage reusable transport methods, alongside equipment like electric pallet jacks and adjustable loading docks that cut down on product damage and lower logistics costs.

Externally, a distribution network has been established that pairs efficient intercity freight with nimble doorstep delivery to villages. This system connects directly with farms to pick up produce from growers while also linking to city communities to deliver quality goods to households, effectively clearing both the first mile for agricultural products heading to market and the last mile for industrial goods reaching rural areas, helping urban and rural items exchange more smoothly.

With the infrastructure in place, 56 sets of deep-processing equipment are now operating, including lines for lamb cutting, wolfberry processing, and jujube packaging. Vacuum freeze-drying technology helps retain the nutritional value of long dates and wolfberries, allowing them to be stored at ambient temperatures. The enterprise also developed its own automatic portioning machine for Lingwu long dates, tripling work efficiency compared to manual labor. These upgrades ease the pressures of large-scale production and transform raw farm products into higher-value goods, giving a single date or cut of lamb more versatile forms.

Digital solutions have been woven into every facet of the business. A "West Land Farm Member Store" app lets city dwellers order local produce online with options for in-store pickup, same-day delivery, group buying deals, and member perks. Meanwhile, an ERP system integrates procurement, production, warehousing, sales, and finance, syncing online and offline inventory in real-time, which links the entire chain from field conditions to community shelves. Quality control remains a priority, with a standardized testing lab equipped with professional instruments and adherence to the standards required for a 10,000-grade clean workshop and SC food production certification, ensuring the system is traceable from origin, manageable during processing, and checkable in quality at every stage.

These facility upgrades and expanded channels ultimately target rural development and higher farmer incomes. The company has adopted a collaborative model involving the corporation, farmers, and cooperatives, creating a benefit-sharing mechanism with guaranteed base prices combined with performance-based dividends. Through these agreements, the enterprise has purchased 500 tons of agricultural products including Tan lamb, Lingwu long dates, and wolfberries, paying prices that are on average 5% above market rates. This has substantively boosted farmer earnings and brought over 200 local households and 10 agricultural entities into its supply chain, generating more than a thousand job opportunities and fostering a mutually beneficial cycle of business growth and industry vitality.

The robust warehousing and processing capabilities have also strengthened the region's emergency supply resilience, ensuring a stable supply of meats and vegetables to help market stability when needed. Through the Yinchuan modern trade pilot, West Land Agriculture is using standardized renovations to solidify its physical infrastructure, two-way flow to dissolve urban-rural boundaries, processing and digital tools to enrich value, and shared-interest partnerships to let farmers advance together.

This single distribution line ties rural abundance to city dining tables across the region. The Yinchuan pilot demonstrates how urban and rural businesses can energize each other and how local firms can tap into rural value. The hope is that Yinchuan continues to experiment and refine the pathways for urban-rural trade, allowing even more excellent products from this region to reach every corner of the country.