Investing in new infrastructure

On average, the orchard is able to provide around 200 jobs a day, including technical posts and agricultural maintenance jobs, says Zeng Jin, deputy director of the orchard's administration office.

Tian's family used to live in an earthen house with a tiled roof in a mountain village. During strong winds and storms, the house would leak and the family would be subjected to power blackouts.

They used to plant corn and grains which could only support their most basic needs.

Now they have moved to an apartment nearby the center of Yuexi, with government sponsorship, which has largely facilitated her brother's ability to attend high school and her father to go to hospital.

As one of the more than 4,000 impoverished families that were relocated and sponsored to invest in the orchard, each member of Tian's family will receive a guaranteed annual bonus of 250 yuan for the first three years, starting from this year, Tian says.

Families that have transferred their land-use rights to the orchard can also receive land rent that grows year by year.

According to Dai Song, deputy head of the county, the output value of the whole orchard during high-yield periods will hopefully reach 60 million yuan a year. The approximate annual profit of 30 million yuan will directly benefit around 20,000 underprivileged people.

The orchard is also planning to introduce family-centric activities, like apple-picking, to integrate modern agriculture with tourism, Zeng says.