A local villager checks harvested persimmon in Pingle county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo provided to China Daily]
As early winter descends upon Pingle county in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the ancient persimmon groves burst into a blaze of color.
In Datangkou village, trees heavy with crimson fruit stand like sentinels among farmhouses, their branches strung with what seem like countless scarlet lanterns.
This fiery spectacle is mirrored on the ground, where courtyards are carpeted with golden persimmons drying in the sun, making for a vibrant harvest scene that has drawn visitors from far and wide to seek the season's warmth.
This beauty is rooted in profound history.
Persimmon cultivation in Pingle dates back over 500 years, as recorded in the county annals from the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Blessed with a mild subtropical monsoon climate, Pingle is home to more than 3,500 persimmon trees over a century old, including six revered specimens exceeding 500 years, the largest such grove in China, according to local authorities.
A staff member of a local food company operates a robotic arm to transfer dried persimmons from the oven to the packaging workshop. [Photo provided to China Daily]
This arboreal heritage is now the seed for a distinctive model of integrated development, as the county has transformed those ancient trees into social media hotspots to support local rural development that blends tourism, picking, and processing.
"During peak season, my orchard welcomes 400-500 visitors a day," says Peng Jianhua, who runs a persimmon garden in Xinhua village in Pingle.
Through photo opportunities, traditional costume rentals, livestreaming, and fresh fruit sales, his farm can generate up to 5,000 yuan ($710) in daily revenue, he says.
The journey of the "golden fruit" from tree to table has also been empowered by technological progress.
Inside the workshops of Guangxi Shijie Food Technology Co, an AI-powered optical sorting line whirrs quietly, categorizing fresh persimmons by sugar content, weight, and appearance with robotic precision, which has not only raised production efficiency but also drawn curious visitors.
Washed and peeled persimmons journey along automated lines, while robotic arms stack and transport them to baking facilities.
In packaging workshops, technicians oversee robots that ferry the finished dried fruit.
Technological applications are also being introduced to individual persimmon growers in Pingle.
Huang Shaohua has seen the quality of his persimmons soar in recent years, thanks to technologies such as drone-assisted plant protection and strict green cultivation protocols that ban unauthorized additives.
"My family farm cultivates over 6.67 hectares of persimmon trees, yielding more than 300 metric tons of fruit annually," Huang says during the delivery of his harvest in early December.
Xu Shaoxuan, chairman of Guilin Guonong Ecological Agriculture Technology Co, identified the persimmon's potential and founded the Leshi brand in 2015.
His company developed a premium variety, the "ice persimmon", in 2023, after eight years of research and development.
The variety boasts an almost 70 percent sugar-water ratio, Xu says.
Its successor, the "golden persimmon", launched in 2024, has generated over 6 million yuan in output value, he adds.
Today, the company's products have reached Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia, and it pays dividends to 10 neighboring village collectives, he notes.
Local authorities have seen the potential in persimmons and have integrated the industry into broader tourism landscapes.
They have also initiated innovative mechanisms that connect businesses, cooperatives and farmers to ensure the benefits flow directly to rural households.
"The industry has evolved from simple farming into a modern, integrated system," explains Liu Yongzhong, deputy director of the Guilin municipal Party committee's leading office for rural affairs.
"It's a journey from standardized planting for quality, to technology for extended value chains and finally, to integration for new growth spaces," Liu explains.
This year, Pingle's persimmon planting area spans 12,000 hectares, with an expected output of 620,000 tons, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Guangxi.
Efforts are underway to develop Pingle into a five-star, modern, distinctive agricultural demonstration zone that supports the high-quality development of the persimmon industry, according to a senior official from the Guangxi department.
A network of more than 240 processing enterprises forms a complete industrial chain with an annual output value exceeding 6 billion yuan, creating nearly 150,000 local jobs.
"The secret to turning a small fruit into a big industry lies in unwavering quality, continuous innovation, and strong branding," states Huang Qiang, Party secretary of Pingle.
"We are committed to an eco-friendly path, aiming to grow this into a 10-billion-yuan industry. These century-old trees are becoming a powerful engine for increasing incomes and vitalizing our countryside."
