"Of every 10 lucky bamboo stems sold worldwide, 7 come from Mazhang." Behind this renowned reputation lies the solid practice of the Mazhang Pilot Zone for Agricultural Foreign Cooperation and Exchange, which has cultivated distinctive industries and built competitive industrial clusters. Based on its local resource endowments, the pilot zone takes industrialization, ecological conservation and digitalization as guiding forces, propelling characteristic agriculture to shift from "scale advantage" to "brand advantage" and "value advantage", injecting new vitality into traditional agriculture amid transformation and upgrading.
The large-scale development of characteristic industrial clusters has served as the "cornerstone" of agricultural modernization. After nearly 30 years of cultivation, the pilot zone has become China’s largest production, processing and export base for lucky bamboo, covering a planting area of 12,000 mu with an annual output value exceeding 200 million yuan. Its products are exported to more than 30 countries and regions, including Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and RCEP member states. By November 2023, foreign exchange earnings had surpassed 10 million US dollars. The industry has driven more than 700 farming households across 27 villages: farmers gain about 11 million yuan annually from land transfer, with a per capita annual income increase of 28,000 yuan. At present, the zone is home to 11 large-scale lucky bamboo production and processing enterprises, forming a core model of resource agglomeration. With support from the Baiyun Working Group, the zone has further improved the industrial ecosystem by holding the first Lucky Bamboo Industry Seminar and facilitating cooperation between enterprises and universities.
Meanwhile, Mazhang colored peppers have been included in the National List of Famous, Special, Excellent and New Agricultural Products; five products, such as golden pompano from Hengxing Group and lucky bamboo from Lanying Company, have been certified as "Zhanjiang Brands". Brands of other distinctive agricultural products, including Shuangshuangying Sakyamuni fruit and Jifulan wax apple, have also gained growing popularity. In 2024, the output value of the flower industry reached 673 million yuan, up 7.1% year-on-year. The Taiping cattail industry has involved more than 10,000 farming households, forming a distinctive industrial pattern of "one leading industry supported by multiple varieties". The continuous advancement of high-standard farmland construction and the solid implementation of the Third National Soil Census have further consolidated the agricultural foundation of this fertile land.
Technological empowerment and brand building have driven the continuous upgrading of the industrial value chain. The pilot zone has actively promoted the industrial transformation of agriculture, supported enterprises in technological upgrading, and fostered a number of whole-industry-chain enterprises integrating planting, processing, packaging and marketing. In the lucky bamboo sector, enterprises have innovatively developed auspicious-shaped products such as "Wealth Tower" and "Step-by-Step Rise", which precisely meet market demand in Southeast Asia. With the help of professional institutions such as Fortune Link Consulting, the zone has focused on brand building, translating industrial advantages into market and value advantages.
In the aquatic products sector, prepared dishes such as Hengxing fresh shrimp and golden soup boiled fish with pickled mustard greens combine traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. Local enterprises including Guangdong Jinhuihuang Food have become benchmarks in the regional food industry through strict quality control. Relying on the provincial modern agricultural industrial park for flowers, the pilot zone has improved the "12221" agricultural product marketing system, and promoted Mazhang’s distinctive agricultural products through platforms such as the Canton Fair and Agricultural Trade Fair, continuously enhancing brand influence.
In-depth exploration of integrated development of the three industries has opened up new space for agricultural growth. The pilot zone has vigorously promoted the integrated development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries in rural areas. Five projects, including the agri-tourism integration project of family farms in Longjing Village, have been selected into the provincial key project database. Represented by the new "mangrove +" tourism format, tourism facilities in the Jinniu Island mangrove area have been continuously upgraded, with science popularization corridors and high-quality tour routes completed, forming synergy with the Huguangyan Scenic Area and turning ecological resources into cultural and tourism advantages. Events such as the Taiping Cattail Fashion Show and Spring Flower Market Carnival have organically integrated characteristic agriculture with folk culture and leisure tourism, achieving multiple benefits of "higher agricultural efficiency, increased farmers’ income and more beautiful rural areas".
From farmlands to the global market, from single planting to whole-chain upgrading, the Mazhang Pilot Zone for Agricultural Foreign Cooperation and Exchange is taking characteristic industrial clusters as the engine and technological innovation as the wing, revitalizing traditional agriculture with modern vitality and delivering an outstanding Mazhang chapter for high-quality agricultural development.
reporter :news
