Century-old trees and tech build a prosperous industry

This arboreal heritage is now the seed for a distinctive model of integrated development, as the county has transformed those ancient trees into social media hotspots to support local rural development that blends tourism, picking, and processing.

"During peak season, my orchard welcomes 400-500 visitors a day," says Peng Jianhua, who runs a persimmon garden in Xinhua village in Pingle.

Through photo opportunities, traditional costume rentals, livestreaming, and fresh fruit sales, his farm can generate up to 5,000 yuan ($710) in daily revenue, he says.

The journey of the "golden fruit" from tree to table has also been empowered by technological progress.

Inside the workshops of Guangxi Shijie Food Technology Co, an AI-powered optical sorting line whirrs quietly, categorizing fresh persimmons by sugar content, weight, and appearance with robotic precision, which has not only raised production efficiency but also drawn curious visitors.

Washed and peeled persimmons journey along automated lines, while robotic arms stack and transport them to baking facilities.

In packaging workshops, technicians oversee robots that ferry the finished dried fruit.