Spring City Grapes

Spring City Grapes

　　The "Jisheng" grapes produced in Chuncheng, Jurong, enjoy a certain reputation along the Shanghai-Nanjing railway line. The Chuncheng Town Grape Science and Technology Demonstration Garden was established in 1991 and was listed as a Zhenjiang Agricultural Science and Technology Demonstration Garden in April 1998. In early 1999, based on the original Grape Association, a Grape Professional Cooperative was formed, expanding the original mutual collaboration among agricultural producers mainly in production and technology to cover all aspects of production, management, technology, and marketing. This achieved unified standards in production management and technology, resulting in grapes in the garden with the same color, taste, brand, and price, thereby winning the market through scale and quality advantages. Currently, there are 360 grower households, covering an area of 2,200 mu. In 2003, a total of 1,950 tons of grapes were sold, generating sales revenue of 18 million yuan, with a profit of 10.34 million yuan. Farmers earned 9.2 million yuan, and the Grape Cooperative accumulated a fund of 1.14 million yuan.

The Grape Science and Technology Demonstration Garden achieves shared advantages in branding and technical resources through a "cooperative + grower" model, following a path of scaled, branded, specialized, and high-quality development. Over the years, the Grape Cooperative has invited Japanese grape expert Mr. Hayakawa and others six times to provide on-site training for growers on grape cultivation and management techniques. Starting in 2000, the demonstration garden adopted fully non-polluting production technical standards for grape cultivation and management, steadily improving product quality.

In 2002, it was awarded one of Jiangsu Province's Top Twenty Model Cooperatives and designated as an Introducing Intelligence Demonstration Base by the Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Foreign Experts. In 2003, it was recognized as a Standardized Demonstration Area for Early River Grape Cultivation by the National Standardization Committee. A 600-square-meter grape sales market and cold storage facility were built in the garden, and the "Jisheng" brand trademark was registered. In 2003, "Jisheng" grapes were certified as Jiangsu Province Non-Polluting Agricultural Products and named "Jiangsu Province Famous Brand Agricultural Products" by the Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce and the Provincial Consumers Association.

Since the establishment of the Grape Demonstration Garden, it has received a series of honors. In 2001, it was honored as one of Jiangsu Province’s Top Fifty Agricultural Product Marketing Enterprises and a Trusted Unit for Quality and Service in Jiangsu Market Agricultural and Sideline Products. In September 2003, the Grape Cooperative was commended by the provincial government as an "Advanced Agricultural Industrialization Unit of the Province."