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    'Porters' of Aroma and Honey

    Written by: Guan Qiaoqiao
    Posted on: October 31, 2018 | | 中文

    The beekeepers working in the early hours (Image by Zhao Ge)

    By 8 a.m., before the bees leave the hives to collect honey, Zhou Xiaotong, a bee farmer, and his wife Zhou Heying, are busy gathering honey. Hundreds of beehives line up in circles like a flower bud, in a lavender flower field, in Qapqal Xibo Autonomous County, Xinjiang, China. The flying bees and industrious bee farmers are busy working among the flowers to make themselves a "sweet life."

    In the blooming season of lavender in Ili River Valley, bee farmers begin to collect aromatic lavender honey. Zhou Xiaotong will not finish the day’s work until 11 at night, when the bees return to the hives.

    Ili area of Xinjiang, where Zhou lives, began to introduce and plant lavender in the 1960s, and now its lavender planting area accounts for more than 90% of China's total. Located in the same latitude zone as Provence of France, Ili River Valley enjoys similar climate and soil conditions as the famous French lavender production area. It is the world's third largest lavender planting base after Provence and Furano of Japan. As the only major production area of lavender in China, it has been named the "hometown of lavender in China," by the state department concerned.

    Zhou Xiaotong working on a beehive

    Zhou Xiaotong working on a beehive (Image by Zhao Ge)

    The flowering season of lavender is from late May to late July. In one flowering season alone, Zhou can harvest four to five tons of lavender honey. Compared to mountain flower honey, priced at 100 plus yuan per kg, lavender honey is much more expensive, and its market retail price reaches 300 yuan per kg.

    "The inside of the hive changes very fast. We must keep checking the hives and removing the wax.” The bee farmer, though rather thin, is very quick with his hands and can complete checking of a box of honeycomb in about ten minutes. In his eyes, diligence is the main secret of raising bees and producing honey. In order to ensure the quality, he takes the lavender honey only once every more than ten days, whereas mountain flower honey is generally taken once every two or three days.

    Zhou Xiaotong and his partners working on the beehives next to the lavender fields

    Zhou Xiaotong and his partners working on the beehives next to the lavender fields (Image by Zhao Ge)

    The bee farmer defined his relationship with bees as "mutually feeding" and "interdependent." Speaking of his affection toward bees, Zhou showed mixed feelings. In the 1990s, when honey prices fell, many bee farmers turned to other businesses. He also once contacted buyers, but ultimately pulled back, because of his reluctance to sell his bees. Thereafter, he insisted on beekeeping.

    From the 15 bee hives in the beginning to 42, 70 and 300, now the number of Zhou's hives of black bees has increased to more than 650, with about 30 million bees. His transportation vehicle has also changed from donkey carts to tractors, trucks and extended semi-trailers. Now, his transfer radius has expanded from a few kilometers, to tens or even hundreds of kilometers. And for him, cross-region beekeeping has become an ordinary thing.

    More than 600 beehives located next to the lavender field

    More than 600 beehives located next to the lavender field (Image by Zhao Ge)

    Yet, beekeeping is still risky. “What we bee farmers are most worried about is the climate. And we once encountered the bad weather period in the flowering period, when it rained for 10 days to a half month. The climate directly determines how much money we can make.” Zhou admitted that bee farming is also a lonely career, since they have to transfer between sparsely populated places in the deep Tianshan Mountains throughout the year.

    "Fortunately, the living conditions have gotten better and better over the years. With solar energy, we can watch TV in the mountains; and with cell phone, we can use WeChat. Our spare-time life is getting richer than before.” Zhou said that for him the days are gone when he used kerosene lamps and had nothing to do but to sleep when night fell, and all that was in his past now.

    Translated by Xu Donglin


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021