The vegetables on the table of a Hong Kong family might be grown in Guizhou, some 1,000 km away, because the vegetable industry is becoming a new bridge for connecting the western China province with the Pan-Pearl River regions.

Zhou Qing, a local farmer in Sandu county, said he earned 18,400 yuan ($3,000) in the first quarter of this year from cabbage he planted, and in the second quarter growing tomatoes brought him another 20,000 yuan.

Zhou has improved his life by growing vegetables in recent years on his 0.22-hectare plot of farmland.

Zhou said the vegetables will be taken away by dealers and sent to the Pearl River delta regions once they are ripe.

Unlike Zhou, Wang Jing, who also lives in Sandu, has another method of raising income by growing vegetables.

"We used to rely on 0.22 hectares of farmland to feed the entire family," Wang recalled. His family grew rice and rapeseed for a living.

But in 2009 the local government introduced a farming company to his township, and Wang's family members "suddenly changed from farmers to employees of the company", said Wang.

The company rented all his farmland and started to plant green vegetables instead of traditional crops, such as rice.

Thanks to the emerging vegetable industry, Wang said the annual income of his family has increased from 5,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan.

"Most of our products will be sold to regions like Guangdong and Hong Kong", said Wang Zhougang, the manager of the farming company, which has rented a 33-hectare growing base to provide vegetables to those regions.

Wang believes the unique climate, soil and water quality are particularly suitable for planting vegetables.

"In the next step we are planning to improve the nutrition and heath value of the vegetables to provide organic vegetables to our customers in the Pearl River delta regions," he said.

Statistics from the provincial agricultural authority indicated that in 2012 the overall vegetable planting area reached 1.2 million hectares, with total annual output of 26.5 million tons, both increasing around 25 percent year-on-year.

Dozens of vegetable plantations have been established across the province. Many of the products are directly sold to regions outside Guizhou.

Liu Fucheng, director of the province's agriculture committee, said Guizhou has become a main source of vegetables for the Pearl River and Yangtze River deltas, as well as Hong Kong and Macao and even some ASEAN member countries.

zhaokai@chinadaily.com.cn