Hechi City Will Promote The "Belt And Road" Silkworm Cocoon And Silk Culture Tourism Project

Enter the standardized silkworm shed in the greenhouse in Xinpo Village, Dacai Township, Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County, Hechi City, Guangxi. The conveyor belt, automatic silkworm feeder, transfer car and other equipment with feed are busy working. Intelligent and digital equipment automatically regulate the temperature and humidity of the room, guarding "Silkworm Baby".

The picture shows that silkworm farmers use rail transporters to raise silkworms. Picture provided by Hechi Rong Media Center

"We build a sterile growth environment through big data adjustment, optimize feed consumption, and let 'Silkworm Baby' live a comfortable life, greatly improving the quality and output of silk," said Wei Chaodong, president of the South Gate Silk Specialized Cooperative.

Hechi City belongs to the subtropical monsoon climate zone. It has a history of more than 400 years of planting mulberry and sericulture. In recent years, with the accelerated pace of "mulberry moving from east to west", the scale of local sericulture industry has expanded day by day, becoming the largest cocoon producing city in China. Products are exported to Japan, India, Europe and other countries and regions, known as the "New Silk Capital of China".

The picture shows contiguous mulberry gardens in Hechi City. Photographed by Qin Fangsi

Wei Chaodong told reporters that the climate in Hechi is warm and the mulberry tree has a long growth period. Every year, up to 12 batches of silkworms can be bred, twice the number of silkworms in eastern China. The considerable income has attracted many farmers to join the cooperative. The original wasteland in the village is covered with green mulberry leaves.

Seeing the good prospect of planting mulberry and sericulture, Wei Jiejun, a 60 year old villager in Xinpo Village, planted mulberry trees on the first 12 mu of wasteland in the central plains of his home and took the initiative to join the cooperative.

"There are few diseases in sericulture, and the products are not worried about sales. With the technical support of the cooperative, our family raises a large number of silkworms for sale in an average of 15 days, and each batch can earn more than 10000 yuan." Wei Jiejun said.

The picture shows a sericulture farmer building a "smart sericulture house" under the guidance of technicians. Photographed by Lin Hao

Wei Chaodong introduced that at present, the cooperative is cooperating with enterprises to create a scene of "intelligent sericulture". Silkworm farmers can observe the growth of the silkworm through mobile phones and computer clients, and timely use the Internet of Things and other technologies to accurately control the temperature of the silkworm room, greatly improving the yield and quality of silk.

"After sericulture farmers enter the platform, they don't need to understand the complex sericulture technology. They just need to feed according to the preset process, and the incidence of silkworm disease will be reduced from 40% to less than 5%, and the success rate of sericulture will be increased by about 30%." Chen Guomin, general manager of Guangxi Agricultural Investment Shiyi Agricultural Science and Technology Co., Ltd., said. He said that at present, the company has made achievements in the research on the pilot project of automatic water and fertilizer irrigation for mulberry fields, the research and development of IOT collection equipment for production environment data, and the artificial intelligence identification of silkworm diseases.

Qin Chuncheng, secretary of the CPC Hechi Municipal Committee, introduced that in recent years, with the support of big data and cloud computing technologies, the local government has developed modern agriculture with the concept of digitalization and industrialization, fostered a hundred billion yuan silkworm cocoon and silk industry cluster, and has gained many advantages in aspects such as labor-saving silkworm feeding and automatic cocoon picking. Leading enterprises have increased their efforts in scientific and technological innovation to achieve full coverage of automated silk reeling equipment.

The picture shows an intelligent silk reeling workshop. Photographed by Lin Hao

Guangxi Jialian Silk Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jialian Silk") has been engaged in the cocoon and silk processing industry in Hechi for more than 20 years, which has witnessed the development process of "mulberry moving from east to west" in China. Yuan Yi, the chief executive of the company, said that in recent years, taking advantage of the rich local mulberry cocoon resources, Jialian Silk introduced world-class silk reeling, garment processing and silk weaving production lines, and increased independent innovation efforts to achieve digital transformation of production and improve product quality.

The picture shows workers reeling silk with intelligent machines. Photographed by reporter Lin Hao

"The raw silk we produce meets the requirements of international first-line silk brand manufacturers, and the product supply exceeds demand. Since this year, the price has been rising steadily." Yuan Yi said. At present, Jialian Silk has set up a branch in Shenzhen, which will further explore the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and overseas markets.

Lu Lingju, the production director of Hechi Dongfang Silk Road Silk Co., Ltd., also introduced that through technical research, the company has built an intelligent silk reeling digital workshop, which has been certified as a global organic textile standard. European customers have praised the quality of raw silk produced. At the beginning of this year, an Italian partner immediately placed an order for more than 100 tons of products after a field visit.

At present, Hechi Dongfang Silk Road Silk Co., Ltd. is extending its industrial chain to white refining, dyeing, printing and other links, and has established a specialized import and export trade department to work with overseas partners to promote the development of the "New Silk Road".

The picture shows mulberry leaf tea, silk skin care products and other products. Photographed by Lin Hao

In Hechi, many enterprises also strive to develop more effective processes, so that more people can enjoy the benefits of the silkworm cocoon and silk industry. At the "mulberry at four seasons" experience center in Xinpo Village, the reporter saw that mulberry leaf tea, mulberry yellow wine, silk quilt, silk skin care products, mulberry branch alkaloid tablets and other products are rich and diverse.

Chen Bin, secretary of the Party committee of Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County, Hechi City, introduced that in the past, the silkworm products were relatively simple, mainly white factory silk. In recent years, using big data technology, the local government has successively developed high-value added products such as silkworm food, silkworm supplies, silkworm medicines, and high-quality silkworm pupae have been exported to the markets of South Korea, Thailand, and other countries.

Qin Chuncheng said that next, Hechi City will promote the deep integration of new technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things with the silkworm cocoon and silk industry, create the "Belt and Road" digital technology innovation center for the whole industry chain of silkworm cocoon and silk, and develop silkworm silk cultural tourism projects.

(Source: China News Network)

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