Hao Lihong, general manager of Guli farm, an agricultural supply chain cooperative in north China's Tianjin Municipality, shows the growth of Shawo radishes in Tianjin, north China, Jan. 3, 2025. (Xinhua/Song Rui)

Rows of green Shawo radishes are growing well in a technology demonstration base covering an area of around 50 mu (about 3.33 hectares) in the suburb of north China's Tianjin Municipality.

It is currently the peak sales season for Shawo radishes, and most of the radishes in the greenhouses at the base are in cold storage, waiting to be distributed nationwide.

"Via the Internet of Things and sensors in the greenhouses, the amount of watering, the temperature, humidity and light can be managed intelligently, increasing the quality of the radishes. The process of growing the radishes including seed selection, planting and maintenance is recorded in the smart system," said Hao Lihong, general manager of Guli farm, an agricultural supply chain cooperative in Tianjin.

Hao said that the smart planting technology would soon be introduced to more than 10 greenhouses in the area -- allowing local farmers to plant in an automated way by using mobile phones.

The Shawo radish is named after its growth localities in Xiaoshawo Village and Dashawo Village in Xinkou Town, Tianjin's Xiqing District. Local Shawo radish growing dates back more than 300 years. The soil in these areas is sandy near the surface and sticky deeper down -- making radishes grown there both crisp and sweet.

In 2024, in order to promote the development of the Shawo radish industry, the district government made a plan and cooperated with towns, villages and enterprises to produce a well-known Shawo radish brand.

"In the past, the radish planting here lacked both scale and standardization. The production facilities were old, while seeds were not standard. The taste of radishes grown by different people was different, which restricted the brand-inheritance potential of the Shawo radish," Hao said.

Notably, Guli farm and Dashawo Village have strengthened their cooperation efforts since last year. More than 300 contracted farmers have enjoyed technical training and guidance from experts with Tianjin Academy of Agriculture Sciences. They also did not need to find the sales channels by themselves, but instead sold radishes directly to Guli farm.

Thanks to this cooperation model, Sun Guoqiang, a 62-year-old living in Dashawo Village, has benefited a lot. "The peak sales season for Shawo radishes is from December to February of the following year. By the end of 2024, all 25,000 kilograms of Shawo radishes in my five greenhouses had been purchased by Guli farm, earning me roughly 100,000 yuan (about 13,638 U.S. dollars)," Sun said.

The price of the radishes has more than doubled compared with 2023, and Sun plans to expand his planting area this year to make even more money.

In recent years, marketing activities to promote the Shawo radish brand have been implemented, boosting sales. In addition, a special promotion meeting focused on the Shawo radish was held in Beijing, while many Chinese cities including Changsha, Hangzhou and Guangzhou hosted exhibitions, where visitors could get a closer look at this special radish variety. Online and offline sales channels for this brand have been expanded recently, serving as another boost for the Shawo radish industry.

"In 2024, we made a lot of efforts to expand the sales chain of Shawo radishes, and enhance their popularity and reputation through brand building and cultural tourism activities," Hao said.

This year, the company will cooperate with enterprises in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to help farmers sell Shawo radishes to buyers in Hong Kong and Macao, Hao added.

The Shawo radish industry has had a significant impact on Xinkou Town, boosting rural revitalization there.

At present, the town has planted Shawo radishes across an area of about 7,000 mu -- which is expected to yield an estimated output of around 32.5 million kilograms and an estimated sales value of 250 million yuan.

According to Zhao Jun, the town's Party secretary, the town plans to expand the cultivation scale of Shawo radishes and strengthen the development of both deep processing of agricultural products and tourism, adding that they would also try to make the Shawo radish industry a good model of rural revitalization by continuously extending the industry chain and strengthening the Shawo radish brand.