STORY: Faces of China: Peking University graduate promotes green industry in NW China
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Oct. 3, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:21
LOCATION: BAIYIN, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Jia Cunqin
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JIA CUNQIN, General manager of Gansu Huiqin Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
3. various of Baiyin, China
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JIA CUNQIN, General manager of Gansu Huiqin Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): WANG WENJING, Staff member of Gansu Huiqin Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

STORYLINE:

51-year-old Jia Cunqin has been working for ten years to foster a green industry in a desert region.

Jia, a Ph.D. graduate from Peking University, quit a well-paying job in Beijing in 2014.

He returned to his hometown, Baiyin in Gansu Province, to start his own business.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JIA CUNQIN, General manager of Gansu Huiqin Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
"In 2014, after resigning from my executive position at a publicly listed pharmaceutical company in Beijing, I returned to my hometown to develop the Cistanche deserticola health industry. My initial thought was quite simple: I aimed to leverage my research on Cistanche, from cultivation to production and development. Through my efforts, I wanted to help elevate the entire Cistanche industry in Baiyin and support the development of the Cistanche industry in Gansu Province."

Jia's company is focused on cultivating Haloxylon ammodendron, a plant that curbs desertification, and Cistanche deserticola, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine which parasitizes on Haloxylon ammodendron.

Their approach has achieved both economic and ecological benefits.

Over the past decade, thanks to the persistent efforts of Jia and his research team, the company he founded has now developed into a high-tech enterprise and a national demonstration base for the under-forest economy.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JIA CUNQIN, General manager of Gansu Huiqin Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
"We have established an organic Cistanche deserticola cultivation demonstration base covering around 887 hectares. Through our efforts, we have expanded the Cistanche industry in Baiyin to around 3,333 hectares, helping approximately 1,000 local households increase incomes by engaging in the industry."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): WANG WENJING, Staff member of Gansu Huiqin Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
"I joined Gansu Huiqin Biotechnology in 2017. At Huiqin, I've learned a lot about the food industry and was able to secure a job close to home. We currently have six production lines, and we may expand by adding two more in the future. As our operations continue to grow, our income will increase, and our quality of life will keep improving."

In the future, Jia and his research team plan to promote the cultivation of 13,333 hectares of Haloxylon ammodendron and Cistanche deserticola in Baiyin City over the next 5 to 8 years.

They hope for building a 1 billion yuan (141.9 million USD) Cistanche-based health industry, contributing to rural revitalization in the region while greening more desert land.

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