STORY: Modern tech assists cotton farmers in China's Xinjiang
SHOOTING TIME: April 16-20, 2024
DATELINE: April 29, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:17
LOCATION: URUMQI, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY/TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of aerial views of the farmland
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): SUN SHOUYING, Agriculture and rural affairs bureau of Wusu, Xinjiang
3. various of cotton farmers working in the farmland

STORYLINE:

In recent years, advancements in agricultural technology have gradually become vital allies to the cotton farmers of China's Xinjiang.

In Wusu City, a major cotton production area in northern Xinjiang, the construction of high-standard farmlands has been widely promoted.

As the cotton sowing season has kicked off, modern tech such as unmanned seeders guided by China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and the Internet of Things, have been applied to save resources and labor.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): SUN SHOUYING, Agriculture and rural affairs bureau of Wusu, Xinjiang 
"The high-standard farmland construction will integrate all of the traditional cotton fields, which will save costs and increase efficiency, as well as promote large-scale planting. 
Permanent basic farmland in Wusu City currently covers an area of over 2.16 million mu (144,313 hectares). By 2023, we have created 736,000 mu (49,066 hectares) of high-standard farmland. We plan to complete all development of high-standard farmland by 2030."

Xinjiang is the largest cotton production base in China. In 2023, cotton output in Xinjiang reached 5.11 million tonnes, accounting for over 90 percent of China's output.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Urumqi, China.
(XHTV)