Fresh from farm factory to Beijing plates

Thirty-year-old Beijing resident Liu Yijun swears by the quality of fruits and vegetables that she procures from a plantation in Shijiazhuang, Hebei.

"During the Chinese New Year holiday, I bought several boxes of cherry tomatoes from Shijiazhuang. Some were given as gifts to my friends, and some were sent to my hometown for my family to eat," said Liu, who is a regular customer of Xinxing Cathy (Hebei) Agronomic Ecology Co's plantation in Shijiazhuang's Luquan district.

Liu places her orders online, and the fresh produce is delivered to her home in Beijing. "I saw online that their planting technology is very advanced, and the tomatoes have a rich flavor, reminiscent of the taste from my childhood," Liu said.

Since the implementation of the coordinated development strategy for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region 11 years ago, Hebei is now fully leveraging its geographical advantage of being surrounded by Beijing and Tianjin to accelerate its own development.

There are many examples to illustrate this point, not least of which is the fact that more than 40 percent of the vegetables on the dining tables of Beijing residents are from Hebei.

The cherry tomatoes Liu likes are one of many products sold under the label of Hebei Jingcai, or Hebei Clean Vegetables, that are transported every day to Beijing in large quantities.

According to the Hebei Provincial Department of Commerce, Hebei Jingcai covers vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs and aquatic products that are selected, cleaned, cut and packaged according to food quality standards. It is a trademark of quality for fresh agricultural products from Hebei that undergo basic processing before being sold.

In 2024, agricultural products from Hebei accounted for 42.5 percent of the Beijing market, a year-on-year increase of 0.7 percent, statistics from the department showed.

"Hebei Jingcai being sold in Beijing is an important step in the process of implementing the strategy of coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Other than promoting our development, it also ensures a steady supply of fresh products for the Beijing market and reduces household waste at the source," said Liu Zhangwen, chairman of Hebei Jingcai Co, which came into existence at the end of last year.

He added that products sold under the Hebei Jingcai trademark have their inedible parts removed for recycling, which enhances value addition and the quality of the products. It also cuts down urban household waste by about 20 percent.

According to Liu, the purpose of establishing the company was to integrate upstream and downstream resources of the industrialized chain, provide systematic solutions for more enterprises to expand sales channels and achieve scale production, as well as help enterprises reduce logistics and operating costs.

A total of 85 companies in Hebei have obtained the right to use the Hebei Jingcai trademark. "This model not only provides high-quality agricultural products to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region but also injects new momentum into upgrading Hebei's agriculture, and high-quality economic development of the province," he said.