Guizhou province: Mechanization accelerates rice production
Farmers handle trays of rice seedlings in Ceheng county, Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou province, in southwest China, in preparation for transplanting, as seen on CCTV-13, a major news channel in China. High-yield rice farming and modern agricultural practices have taken root in Ceheng in recent years. [Photo/CCTV.com]
Located in southwest China, rice farming enters its peak season in late June in Ceheng county, Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou province, and farmers have been leveraging mechanization in order to maximize efficiency.
The early morning hum of machinery in Angtao village, Yangba town, Ceheng county, signals a new era in rice farming. Tilling machines prepare high-quality paddy fields while farmers level the land and load seedling trays onto transplanting machinery with precision. Angtao’s residents have been growing high-yield rice varieties and utilizing modern transplanting techniques under the guidance of agricultural technicians who provide hands-on seedling cultivation, transplanting, and field management training and remain on-site throughout the season in order to lay the groundwork for strong harvests.
Angtao has become a Ceheng county high-yield rice farming demonstration zone since embarking on the endeavor in early 2023; it had exceeded its goal of growing high-yield rice on 4,000 ha of land by late June 2025 as the total came to 4,447 ha; and 3,120 ha has been farmed with the aid of agricultural machinery.
Jiangxi province: achieving eco-friendly agriculture with duck-rice farming and solar insecticidal lamps
Ducks forage freely in a paddy field in Ruichang city, Jiangxi province, as part of an integrated duck-rice farming system that bolsters ecological sustainability and rural vitalization, as seen on CCTV-13. [Photo/CCTV.com]
An integrated duck–rice farming system that incorporates insecticidal solar lamps has been bolstering sustainable agriculture in Ruichang city, Jiangxi province, in east China. The innovative approach reduces pesticide use, improves rice quality, and generates income from both duck and rice sales.
Ducks roam freely through lush rice paddies at a demonstration base in Yuanjing village, Henggang town, Ruichang city. During the day, they consume pests and aerate the water, which promotes healthier root systems. At night, eco-friendly pest control is achieved via solar insecticidal lamps, which reduces dependency on chemical pesticide.
The model also reduces chemical fertilizer use by more than 30% and lowers costs by approximately 1,200 yuan (US$165) per ha. Duck manure naturally fertilizes the soil, enriching it with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which further improves the quality and value of the rice that is grown.
Ruichang plans to scale the model to cover over 2,000 ha of land in 2025, including a 267-ha demonstration zone. The endeavor is expected to reduce chemical pesticide use by 2.5 metric tons as the less-sustainable methods and undertakings that are currently in place are replaced and phased out.
Fujian province: Smart mobile mushroom grow houses revolutionize fungiculture
A view of smart mobile mushroom grow houses situated beneath an elevated expressway in Tianbao town, Xiangcheng district, Zhangzhou city, Fujian province, as seen on CCTV-13. [Photo/CCTV.com]
Known as the “mushroom capital of China,” Zhangzhou city, Fujian province, in southeast China, has a long history of edible mushroom cultivation, and its mushroom production, processing volume, and exports consistently rank among the highest in the country. In recent years, the city has been taking its edible fungi industry to the next level with smart mobile mushroom fruiting rooms. The modular, container-style units enable farmers to grow mushrooms on idle land or even in their residences’ courtyards.
A demonstration base approximately 100 m long situated under an elevated expressway in Tianbao town, which is located in Zhangzhou’s Xiangcheng district, for example, features state-of-the-art mobile mushroom fruiting rooms measuring 8 m long, 3 m wide and 2.4 m high. Each unit features a compact yet highly efficient vertical farming system with 14 layers of shelving that is capable of housing up to 1,300 mushroom substrate packs in total.
A view of the interior of a traditional mushroom grow house (left) and a view of the interior of a smart mobile mushroom grow house (right), as seen on CCTV-13 [Photo/CCTV.com]
Shelving can be excessively high in traditional mushroom fruiting rooms, which can be a safety hazard and result in upper tiers going unused, lower tiers being packed more tightly than they are designed for, which restricts air circulation and hinders growth, with electricity being wasted. In contrast, mobile mushroom grow houses feature shelving that is closer to the ground, which enables it to be used more effectively and people of average height to harvest mushrooms more safely and more easily and sufficient space to be left in between substrate packs, ensuring that there is ample room for growth.
Every grow house also features a control system that automatically adjusts light, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels in a manner that is optimized in accordance with the requirements associated with the various stages of growth that the mushrooms go through, which makes production much more efficient.
A view of the dashboard that controls the automated system that is used in a smart mobile mushroom grow house located in Zhangzhou city, Fujian province, as seen on CCTV-13 [Photo/CCTV.com]
A variety of oyster mushroom that is prized for its distinctive flavor and nutritional value known as the Xiuzhen mushroom, phoenix-tailed mushroom, or pocket-sized oyster can now be harvested every 6 to 7 days, for example, which is a dramatic improvement from its regular 60-day cultivation cycle. Starting on the fourth day of growth, the temperature inside the fruiting rooms that they are grown in is gradually lowered from 26°C to 13°C in order to prevent the caps from becoming overly thin, which can negatively affect texture. On the fifth day, blue light is introduced in order to enhance coloration and is later switched back to white light during the harvest in order to facilitate easier handling. A fine mist also helps maintain optimal humidity, which keeps the mushrooms fresh and well-hydrated. The tailored environment improves yields by 10% per cycle in addition to reducing cultivation time by approximately 90%.
A view of the interior of a mushroom fruiting room on a batch of Xiuzhen mushrooms’ sixth day of growth, as seen on CCTV-13. The oyster mushroom variety is prized for its distinctive flavor and nutritional value. [Photo/CCTV.com]
Xiuzhen mushrooms are harvested with scissors and then sorted into three categories based on the size of their caps with the aid of small round discs that are used as reference tools. The large mushrooms – whose caps, at around 5 to 6 cm, are about the same diameter as the discs – are considered to be of the highest quality and are the most valuable, followed by the mushrooms with medium-sized caps and those with small ones.
Each mobile mushroom fruiting room is capable of yielding up to 18,000 kg’s worth of mushrooms annually and can generate 215,000 yuan (US$29,971) in output value. With each substrate pack capable of bringing in an average of around 3.3 yuan (US$0.46) of net profit, a single unit can boost a farmer’s annual net income by approximately 78,000 yuan (US$10,873). Local authorities also reduce or waive rental fees for mobile mushroom grow houses in order to lower entry barriers. Leftover mushroom substrate is collected and sold to fertilizer factories after harvests as well, generating further economic benefits on top of ecological ones.
Workers sort, trim and pack harvested mushrooms at a facility in Zhangzhou city, Fujian province, as seen on CCTV-13. [Photo/CCTV.com]
Around 200 mobile mushroom fruiting rooms are in operation in Zhangzhou as of late June 2025, and standardized production has been increasing in the city in general. In 2024, Zhangzhou produced over 1.09 million metric tons of fresh mushrooms, and the entire industry chain, which includes mushroom substrate pack production, packaged fresh mushrooms, and processed products, produced more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.39 billion) in output value.
From mechanized rice cultivation in Guizhou to eco-agriculture in Jiangxi and modular mushroom farming in Fujian, China’s rural vitalization is being powered by modern, sustainable innovation. These types of initiatives pave the way for a greener, more resilient future for agriculture in addition to boosting productivity and incomes.