"It used to be an overgrown wasteland, but in 2015 we partnered with a local company to build a cherry orchard in Gisar, which has given the barren land a new lease of life."
Kang Zhongyu, chairman of the Tajik Federation of Overseas Chinese, in the cherry orchard of Gisar. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
In the western suburbs of Dushanbe, in the Gisar Basin, under the stretches of snow-capped mountains, there is a lush cherry orchard in Gisar, which was built by the company of Kang Zhongyu, chairman of the Tajikistan Overseas Chinese Federation, and local enterprises.
"Growing cherries here is based on the excellent natural environment at the foot of the snow-capped mountains. Formerly an overgrown wasteland, in 2015 we revitalized the barren land with the construction of a Gisar cherry orchard. Kang Zhongyu said in an interview with reporters.
"The cherry orchard covers an area of more than 2,000 acres and has more than 30,000 cherry trees, and hundreds of locals work here when the farming season is busy. ”
Tajikistan has a temperate continental climate, with a large temperature difference between day and night, and the nourishment of clear snow and water, which provides a good environment for the growth of cherries. The cherries here are sweet and juicy, have a good taste, and are cheaper than cherries from major cherry exporting countries such as Chile, making them very competitive in the market.
Cherries grown in the Gisar cherry orchard in Tajikistan. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
Kang Zhongyu said: "We adhere to green ecological planting, do not use fertilizers and pesticides, and make full use of natural resources to cultivate the purest cherries." We grow 5 varieties of cherries, the most popular of which is cherries. ”
Agriculture is one of the main industries in Tajikistan, which has the advantages of natural resources for the development of agriculture, such as sufficient sunshine hours, relatively fertile soil, and abundant water resources. In recent years, Tajikistan has adopted a series of measures to promote agricultural production and efficiency, and the results have been remarkable.
In Kang Zhongyu's view, Tajikistan has abundant agricultural resources and a good agricultural foundation, and China has significant advantages in agricultural science and technology, agricultural machinery manufacturing, and agricultural product processing, and the complementarity of resources provides a good foundation for cooperation between the two countries in the agricultural field.
Data map: Commemorative column of the national emblem of Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Photo by China News Service reporter Han Haidan
He said: "In recent years, the two countries have built high-quality agricultural cooperation projects such as the China-Thailand New Silk Road Tajikistan Agricultural Textile Industrial Park and the Khatlon Oblast Agricultural Science and Technology Demonstration Center, and the cooperation in the field of agricultural trade has also become increasingly close, and Tajikistan's high-quality green agricultural products such as cherries, lemons and grapes are favored by Chinese consumers." ”
Kang Zhongyu has lived in Tajikistan for 28 years, and he also runs a large building materials company in the capital, Dushanbe, which produces lightweight building materials such as aerated concrete blocks and red bricks.
He said: "Due to geographical environment and other factors, Tajikistan's transportation was very inconvenient in the past, and at the beginning of the company's preparation in 2002, large-scale equipment had to be disassembled and transported from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and other countries, and then re-welded and assembled. ”
After a difficult preparation period, Kang Zhongyu brought technicians from China to teach local workers to learn production knowledge, and the building materials factory gradually got on the right track.
He said: "Before the factory was built, the field of building materials in Tajikistan was completely blank, and after the factory was completed and put into operation, a lot of building materials were produced, which means that we filled the gap in Tajikistan." ”
"Nowadays, the construction of local transportation infrastructure is becoming more and more perfect, which provides convenience for personnel exchanges and economic and trade exchanges." Kang Zhongyu said that in 2004, the two countries opened direct flights between cities, and the whole journey only took more than two hours, and in the same year, the Central Takarasu-Kolemai port was opened in the summer, and in 2016, the port was opened all year round, and goods sent from China can be transported directly to Dushanbe by road.
Data map: The Wahdat-Yawan Railway in Tajikistan built by China. Photo by China News Service reporter Wen Longjie
In addition to business, Kang Zhongyu is also actively involved in the work of the Chinese community. He said: "The members of the Tajikistan Overseas Chinese Federation come from various industries, and hope to provide a platform for overseas Chinese to help each other, cooperate and exchange, and at the same time help overseas Chinese enterprises understand the local environment and better invest and start businesses." ”
"With the deepening of cooperation between the two countries, more and more Chinese enterprises have entered Tajikistan to promote the development of local agriculture, industry and textile industries, and also create more employment opportunities." Kang Zhongyu said that in the future, overseas Chinese and Chinese will continue to "build bridges" to promote more fruitful results in various fields and be ambassadors of friendly exchanges between the two countries.
Editor in charge: Ma Haiyan
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