Xingguo Azaleas

Xingguo Azaleas

　　Xingguo County in Jiangxi Province, the birthplace of 54 founding generals of New China, is widely renowned as the "County of Generals." Nowadays, however, Xingguo has gained fame for its rapidly developing azalea cultivation industry. The county has become the largest azalea-producing area in Jiangxi and a notable one in southern China. Recently, reporters in Gaoxing Town of Xingguo County saw vast greenhouses of Belgian azaleas stretching along National Highway 319. According to Wang Yonglu, director of the county’s Agricultural Technology Extension Station, there are now over 100 households engaged in azalea cultivation in Xingguo, covering more than 1,600 acres, with the area expanding by over 100 acres each year.

　　It is hard to describe just how beautiful, magnificent, vast, and resplendent it is—the fiery red blooms seem almost overwhelming, as if they could engulf past and future lives alike, evoking a vertiginous sense of gazing up at the heavens.

　　Ideal Climate and Government Support Xingguo falls within the mid-subtropical monsoon humid climate zone, characterized by mild weather, abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and a long frost-free period. With an average annual temperature of 18.9°C, it is highly suitable for azalea growth. In the greenhouse of grower You Yu yuan, cuttings treated for root development were directly inserted into yellow clay soil and were growing very robustly. You Yu yuan explained that the local soil is rich in nutrients, so as long as the rooting solution concentration is properly adjusted, the cuttings can be directly planted in the earth. He randomly pulled out a two-month-old cutting, revealing a very dense root system. The facilities used for azalea cultivation here are also quite simple—just makeshift greenhouses built from wood and bamboo—but the resulting azalea leaves display a healthy dark green. Mu Nansheng, director of the Flower Research Institute at the Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences who visited Xingguo for inspection, believes that the quality of azaleas produced in Xingguo is by no means inferior to those from Fujian.

　　Gaoxing Town in Xingguo County is a national model site for new rural construction. As early as 2003, the town was designated by the Municipal Party Committee Organization Department. Within three years, it established the nationally famous "Yigui Residential Area," and through this model, vigorously developed agricultural and sideline industries, enabling 12,000 farmers in Gaoxing Town to be among the first to achieve prosperity. In recent years, other exemplary residential areas such as Shangxia Street, Chenggangshang, and Xiahoutang have also been developed. The town has been awarded honors such as Advanced Grassroots Party Organization by the Central Organization Department and Advanced Grassroots Party Organization of Jiangxi Province.

　　"Yinghong" Flowers is one of the ten major industries in Gaoxing Town, alongside tobacco curing and seed production, covering a total area of over 700 acres. This beauty is the result of the dedication of resident officials and the town leadership. At the time, to expand the industry and broaden the path to prosperity for farmers, resident officials and town leaders conducted market research repeatedly. They eventually identified great potential in the flower industry and proposed establishing a demonstration base on a rocky hill at the entrance of Xinqiaotou Village in Gaoxing, near National Highway 319. Wang Nanfang, a flower grower, was the first person in Xingguo County to grow azaleas. Currently, his azalea planting area spans over 70 acres, with an annual output of more than 200,000 pots. According to him, to ensure product quality, some major local growers hired experienced azalea cultivators from Fujian to manage production. In November 2007, local flower growers jointly established a specialized azalea production cooperative and set up an azalea sales outlet in Fangcun, Guangzhou. The cooperative organized the town’s scattered flower growers, implementing unified coordination, unified purchasing and sales, and unified technical guidance, achieving contract-based cultivation. Led by growers like You Yu yuan, members of the cooperative made five trips to Beijing and secured a contract to supply 2 million potted flowers for the Olympic Games.

　　The planting base here features a signboard for the "Xingguo County One-Village-One-College-Student Program Landscape Technology Practice Base." This is a joint project with some agricultural and forestry colleges in Jiangxi, allowing college students with theoretical knowledge to work with experienced growers in the base to explore azalea cultivation, combining theory with practical production. To further improve azalea cultivation techniques, the Xingguo County Flower Association specially hired skilled growers and horticultural experts as technical advisors to train flower growers, solve cultivation problems, and effectively prevent common diseases such as anthracnose and red spider mites. The association also established a dedicated floral website, attracting many out-of-town merchants to place orders online. Additionally, the flower association frequently organizes growers to travel north to Nanchang, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, and south to Guangzhou, Xiamen, and Fuzhou to participate in various flower expos, promoting Xingguo azaleas to merchants across the country.

　　Azaleas are not limited to a single shade of red—different varieties come in different colors: the Shengdihuang variety is as red as fire, the Violet variety resembles the feathers of autumn swallows, the Crown variety’s pink is like the cheeks of a girl bathed in sunlight; and the Red Double Happiness, hailed as the king of azaleas, features petals striped in red and yellow. Inside the azalea greenhouses, crowds surge, all enchanted by the blossoms. Complementing the azaleas are evergreen ivy, fortune berries, Buddhist pine, and potted plants. Though not as outstanding as the azaleas, their presence makes the azaleas shine even brighter—like the vast sky or the expansive earth, where these two grand elements rely on the humble multitude in between. To promote more flower sales, in recent years, flowers have been provided for the launch events of new buildings in major cities such as Qingdao, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

　　Thanks to the nourishment of spring rain, the fragrance of flowers fills the air. When the azaleas bloom, the "Yinghong" Flowers have become a renowned "treasure basin" known far and wide.