The coastal city of Yantai in East China’s Shandong province has accelerated its pace in digital transformation in sectors such as farming, manufacturing, and fishing industries in recent years, which have helped the city achieve high-quality development.

With the help of technology and automated agricultural machinery, spring plowing in the city this year has become more efficient, and the cost of labor has been significantly reduced, local farmers said.

The apple growing industry is a major pillar of Yantai’s agricultural sector, and the city has beefed up efforts to advance the development of the "digital apple industry".

Official data showed that areas using pesticide drones have increased by six times compared with figures in 2019, and the city has built 61,000 mu (4,066.67 hectares) of digital orchards. A number of science and technology innovation centers, and big data centers for apples have been established, in a bid to accelerate the deep integration of traditional and modern planting technologies, as well as increase the added value of agricultural products to boost the market competitiveness of apples.

At the same time, Yantai has also accelerated construction of "new infrastructure" such as 5G, artificial intelligence and big data, which will lay a sound foundation for the integration of digital and real economies, and help drive industrial upgrading and digital transformation in traditional sectors.

The city has launched an industrial internet platform, and an array of application programs were released, ensuring that enterprises and public institutions can resume production quickly. The online platforms have also reduced the impact of COVID-19 on enterprises and the industrial economy.