Proud pear farmers harvest snow pears in Yunhe county. [Photo/Tide News]

Yunhe county – administered by Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province – is going from strength to strength, building on its history of cultivating snow pears, a large and sweet variety of the fruit that can weigh up to 2.5 kilograms each.

The county has over 12,500 mu (833 hectares) of orchards producing more than 4,000 metric tons of snow pears annually.

It's been striving to improve the quality and marketability of the popular variety by adopting various measures, such as selecting and breeding high-quality pear seedlings, as well as implementing intelligent monitoring platforms for soil quality, irrigation and fruit growth.

It's also been introducing processing enterprises that produce snow pear products such as wine, cakes and dried fruit.

The efforts have paid off. The county's snow pears have won over customers from all over China with their exquisite packaging, traceable safety and delicious taste.

The county has received more than 1,000 kg of orders for snow pears since the start of spring. A 1.5-kg premium snow pear can sell for about 150 yuan ($21.72).

The county also launched a snow pear industry revitalization plan in 2022, aiming to expand the industry.

So far, the annual output value of Yunhe's snow pears has reached 120 million yuan, with nearly 1,200 households engaged in the sector.