Xincheng Modern Agriculture Demonstration Park

Xincheng Modern Agriculture Demonstration Park

Xincheng Modern Agriculture Demonstration Park is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

Huimin County Xincheng Modern Agriculture Science and Technology Demonstration Park covers an area of 15,000 mu, with a planned investment of 1.67 billion yuan. As of now, 500 million yuan has been invested. The park is divided into multiple functional areas including forestry and fruit seedlings, facility agriculture, scientific research and training, variety breeding, logistics and processing, circular agriculture, leisure wellness, and eco-tourism, and will ultimately be developed into an integrated agritainment complex that combines modern high-efficiency agriculture, circular agriculture, leisure tourism, medical-wellness retirement communities, hot spring wellness, family vacationing, science education, and an outlet shopping center.

The park currently grows a variety of crops, with breeding techniques applied to (flowers, seedlings, fruits, and vegetables). The orchard covers 2,000 mu of EU-certified organic fruit trees and 500 mu of fruit-picking gardens. The main cash crops include various fruits and vegetables such as melons, grapes, apples, peaches, leeks, okra, chrysanthemum greens, tomatoes, peppers, and screw peppers. The vegetable planting in the park mainly follows an order-based model, with okra and chrysanthemum greens already entering the Japanese market and going international. A vegetable processing workshop is under construction, integrating sorting, washing, processing, packaging, and cold storage. The facility agriculture includes 35,000 square meters of smart greenhouses, which are equipped with a comprehensive environmental control system that can directly adjust indoor factors such as temperature, light, water, fertilizer, and air. The smart greenhouses have achieved soilless cultivation and integrated water-fertilizer systems, and are fitted with yellow sticky traps to enable green and organic fruit and vegetable growing. There are also 300 mu of solar greenhouses, each installed with remote monitoring and IoT systems to monitor air, soil, light, temperature, and humidity within the greenhouse.

The park utilizes the shade provided by trees for understory planting and breeding. Understory crops with high economic value—such as forest flowers, medicinal plants, and forest mushrooms—are planted, while poultry farming dominates the current understory animal husbandry. Future plans include livestock farming and beekeeping under the forest canopy. This approach not only protects forestry resources but also develops both agriculture and animal husbandry, creating an understory ecological garden and promoting the development of circular agriculture. Biogas digesters built on-site recycle poultry manure and crop waste, with the biogas used for lighting and the residue enriching the soil.

The park breaks away from traditional agricultural models by integrating agriculture with tourism and elderly care. It has constructed dozens of waterside holiday wooden cabins for leisure and sightseeing, with plans to expand to over a hundred. A senior living apartment has been completed, and the development of medical-wellness integrated small courtyards will continue, allowing more seniors to enjoy nature and experience a back-to-basics healthy lifestyle. The park will soon develop an agricultural experience zone where citizens or tourists can choose their preferred crops to grow and entrust the park with crop management, visiting during holidays to experience the joys and challenges of farming. A youth water sports training center equipped with various amusement facilities will greatly boost tourism in the surrounding area and bring substantial economic and social benefits. The park's petting zoo, currently under refinement, has introduced adorable animals such as alpacas, sika deer, reindeer, camels, and peacocks, creating a space where visitors can interact closely with these cute creatures and foster love for animals.

The Outlet Leisure Shopping Town has completed its initial negotiations. Currently, an overseas team is handling investment attraction and design, with completion expected within one to two years. The establishment of the Outlet Leisure Shopping Town will provide residents of nearby cities with an exotic shopping experience, allowing them to purchase international brands without leaving the country.

The park’s fruit-picking garden is open to local residents and tourists, offering the fun of harvesting. The completed tropical fruit cultivation area grows bananas, lemons, passion fruits, pomelos, dragon fruits, star fruits, and other tropical fruits, enabling visitors to enjoy fresh southern fruits locally, while also increasing children’s scientific knowledge through picking. The understory farming area allows visitors to collect poultry eggs and observe free-range birds, which is especially popular with children. The park also cultivates valuable ornamental seedlings, including nearly extinct species such as Zelkova serrata, Bauhinia blakeana (Hong Kong’s city flower), sakura (Japan’s national flower), Albizia julibrissin (Weihai’s city tree), golden elm, crabapple, and eucommia, with over 100 varieties of flowering shrubs.

In 2017, the park was approved by the higher government to establish the Shandong Xincheng Shu Huaizui Academician Workstation. The company also collaborates with multiple universities, providing internship opportunities for students, and maintains close cooperation with over ten agricultural institutes and research bodies nationwide. The park has joined the Star Creation Platform, laying the foundation for its networked and modern development. Emphasizing the cultivation of local scientific talent, the park’s self-trained technicians—under the guidance of university professors—have played a significant role. Technicians have grown high-quality Xinmi series melons to standards that achieve a sugar content of 23.4%, breaking a world record and earning a World Record Certification. Throughout the park’s construction, the government has provided strong support, resulting in recognitions such as: Municipal Modern Agriculture Demonstration Park, National Four-Star Leisure Agriculture and Rural Tourism Demonstration Enterprise, Provincial High-Tech Enterprise, Shandong Forestry Leading Enterprise, Provincial Key Agricultural Industrialization Leading Enterprise, and 2018 Provincial Agritainment Complex. Leaders at all levels have spoken highly of Xincheng Modern Agriculture Science and Technology Park after inspection visits, offering valuable suggestions for its future direction as well as financial and policy incentives.

To date, 11 products produced by the company—including cabbage, black magic beans, honeysuckle, lettuce, fresh lily bulbs, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, peppers, and eggplants—have been certified as Grade A Green Food products, and Green Food Certificates have been issued. Soilless-cultivated leeks have obtained the Ministry of Agriculture’s Pollution-Free Product Certification. The company has applied for 8 patents, among which three—Tomato Rockwool-Coconut Coir Composite Substrate Cultivation Nutrient Solution, A Leek Cultivation Technique, and European Bumblebee Artificial Propagation and Successive Pollination Technique—have been granted invention patents. Five others—A Glasshouse Bell Pepper Soilless Cultivation Method, A Pollution-Free Soilless Leek Cultivation Nutrient Solution, A Bell Pepper Soilless Cultivation Nutrient Solution and Its Preparation Method, A Cucumber Substrate Cultivation Nutrient Solution, and A Wild Vegetable Dumpling and Its Production Method—have received acceptance notices. The New Pear No. 7 variety has obtained the EU Organic Certification Conversion Period Certificate.