Charming Zhenning, Only Cherries Matter — Scenic Maoliang's Zhenning Cherries
It is understood that the Zhenning Cherry Picking Tourism Festival is held annually in April and May. The festival has gradually helped Zhenning cherries gain widespread fame, not only increasing income for cherry growers but also boosting the county’s tourism and catering service industries. This year’s cherry festival adopted the theme “Charming Zhenning, Only Cherries Matter,” using cherries as a medium to fully showcase the new look of Zhenning Autonomous County’s rural areas — “thriving businesses, prosperous households, harmonious communities, and beautiful villages” — as well as the new image of eco-tourism and poverty alleviation. By leveraging cherry-related elements to promote rural tourism, the festival has driven the development of local dining, hotels, and attractions in Zhenning County, attracting visitors from all over and creating favorable conditions for increasing local incomes.
Wide Picking Range, Diverse Varieties, Excellent Reputation
This year’s cherry festival features a total of 27 cherry picking gardens, distributed across Machang Town, Jianglong Town, Baima Lake Office, Muyi Town, and Biandan Town. Each area offers multiple varieties such as Hongshui cherries, Baishui cherries, Agate Red, Black Pearl, and Black Rose. A collective welcome is extended to 38,000 mu of cherries, with a total output of approximately 19,000 tons, capable of accommodating 50,000 visitors. Compared to previous years, this year’s cherries are sweeter, while prices remain similar. With their attractive appearance, sweet flavor, rich nutrition, and taste suitable for all ages, Zhenning cherries sold out quickly upon hitting the market.
Colorful Activities Shine with Highlights — “Cherry Brother” Makes a Comeback at the Cherry Festival
This year’s cherry festival offers more exciting and creative activities compared to previous years. At the opening ceremony, in addition to traditional ethnic dance performances unique to Zhenning, there were also newly added programs such as sealed cherry wine tastings, performances by original bands, and shows themed around poverty alleviation. There were also original dance medleys titled “The Cherries Are Ripe” and an original musical “Zhenning Cherries,” featuring highlights such as live audiences adopting cherry trees, leaders watering soil and planting cherry fruits, and awards ceremonies for “Cherry Babies.” Meanwhile, events such as “Searching for Cherry Memories” and “Internet Celebrity Live Streaming of the Cherry Festival” were synchronously and joyfully held both online and offline. The event concluded with “Cherry Brother” singing a catchy tune: “Zhenning’s cherries (ai tao), so fresh it’s indescribable, delicious beyond compare, sweet like first love.” This ignited the enthusiasm of the audience on-site.
During the opening ceremony, “Machang Town, Jianglong Town, Baima Lake Office, and Muyi Town” were designated as the main cherry production areas of Zhenning. Certificates of adoption were also awarded to those kind-hearted individuals who participated in the “Love in Action · Hand in Hand to Adopt a Happy Cherry Tree” campaign.
After the event, the organizers prepared a sumptuous “long-table banquet” for attending guests and tourists, offering a taste of distinctive minority ethnic cuisines. In addition, a series of interesting activities were held during the cherry festival, such as the “Cherry Baby Competition,” “Cherry Eating Challenge,” and “Bamboo Dance,” allowing visitors to fully immerse themselves in the festivities and echoing the theme of “Only Cherries Matter.”
Additionally, this year’s cherry festival fully integrated with big data and new media. The “Online Vote for the Cutest Cherry Baby” saw over 1,700 adorable contestants and received 500,000 votes, with nearly 2 million visits. Meanwhile, events such as “Searching for Cherry Memories” and “Internet Celebrity Live Streaming of the Cherry Festival” created interactive engagement both online and offline, gathering positive energy for an “Open Zhenning” and spreading the good word of the “Most Beautiful Waterfall Town.”
Comfortable Environment Encourages Longer Stays, Cherry Culture Promotes Industry Development
“To provide tourists with a more comfortable and convenient travel experience, this year we have carried out comprehensive environmental improvements, clean and beautiful village initiatives, infrastructure construction, and the development of beautiful countryside,” introduced Yang Meng, member of the Standing Committee of Zhenning County Party Committee and Secretary of Machang Town Party Committee. To facilitate cherry picking for tourists and travel for residents, they specifically improved transportation facilities leading to Machang, set up guide signs on both sides of the entrance to Maoliang Village, centralized and regulated the management of farmers who previously solicited tourists sporadically along the roads, and specially established farm stays and rural guesthouses. This allows tourists to enjoy crisp, refreshing cherries in the orchards while also savoring the most authentic farmhouse cuisine.
Different from previous years, this cherry picking tourism festival follows the concept of “culture as the stage, tourism as the performance, ecology as shared benefit, and integration of agriculture and tourism.” Through cultural performances, picking experiences, sightseeing holidays, and other activities, it promotes the healthy development of the mountainous region’s characteristic agro-tourism economy, achieving an organic unity of prosperity for the people and ecological beauty.
It is understood that since 2012, Zhenning Autonomous County has focused on increasing farmers’ incomes as the central task and used the development of “four” agricultural bases as a key initiative to accelerate the adjustment of the agricultural industrial structure. These include bases for characteristic and advantageous agricultural industries such as vegetables, tea, premium water (dried) fruits, and medicinal herbs. Among them, Zhenning cherries serve as a focal point for brand building, expanding promotion, highlighting priorities, researching and creating high-value-added products, transforming from specialization to diversification, gradually forming a distinctive economy, and driving rural economic development.
Currently, according to conservative estimates, Zhenning Autonomous County has 52,000 mu of cherry planting area, with contiguous and clustered planting emerging. As a major industry for “poverty alleviation,” the county plans to expand the cherry planting area to 100,000 mu by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan.
At the opening ceremony of the cherry picking tourism festival, Pan Dengling, County Governor of Zhenning Autonomous County, stated that today’s Zhenning is at a critical juncture in the decisive battle against poverty. As the main cherry-producing area in Guizhou, Zhenning has a long tradition of planting cherries around houses and on barren hills and slopes. In recent years, Zhenning has vigorously implemented industrial poverty alleviation strategies, promoting the transformation of cherry planting toward specialization, standardization, and industrialization. It has also established the prominent “Zhenning Cherries” brand, boosting agricultural output, increasing farmers’ incomes, alleviating rural poverty, raising the “temperature” of development achievements, and adding “thickness” to the people’s welfare report card.
Looking back at the 2017 China Waterfall Town · Zhenning Cherry Picking Tourism Festival, there has been a notable improvement in quality services, significant results in multi-dimensional publicity, a diverse range of colorful activities, and outstanding achievements in network-based organization. Looking ahead, the China Waterfall Town · Zhenning Cherry Picking Tourism Festival will surely become more brilliant with each passing year. By placing equal emphasis on brand and quality, as well as attracting investment and visitors, it aims to truly achieve greater fame, a booming market, and prosperity for farmers.