Intelligent agricultural machines are being applied in Tongzhou's farmland, to improve its yields and promote general rural revitalization. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

The Tongzhou district of Nantong city – located in East China's Jiangsu province – has been busy promoting new agricultural machines, popularizing new farming technologies as well as supporting new farmers in recent years, to guide them on how to upgrade their conventional cultivation methods to intelligent ones.

Yumin village in Tongzhou's Shizong town invested 700,000 yuan ($107,310) on buying intelligent agricultural machines last November and became the first demonstration base for unmanned agricultural machinery in Jiangsu, according to Wang Jinfeng, general Party branch secretary of the village.

"The efficiency of crop-dusting is greatly improved with the application of an unmanned aerial vehicle," Wang said.

"In the past, it took a week to spray pesticides on the 66.67 hectares of land through manual ways using 15 or 16 people. Now, it only takes three days to finish the same work with a UAV," Wang added.

In addition to promoting the application of intelligent agricultural machines, the agriculture and rural affairs department in Tongzhou has also organized agricultural technologists to provide door-to-door guidance on the strengthening the field management for farmers.

The Tianmeng cooperative – located in Jinbei village, in Jinsha sub-district – has applied new cultivation and management technologies to its farmland and produced a variety of high-quality rice. The achievements are being attributed to the comprehensive promotion of green and control technology in Jiangsu province.

Wang Zhuqing is a new farmer. He used to work in Northwest China's Shaanxi province. In 2013, he quit and returned to his hometown in Tongzhou. He rented some 2 hectares of land, introduced high-quality fruit seedlings and founded his own family farm.

To promote his products, he shows them on WeChat and Douyin – also known as Tiktok – and shares tips on planting, to expand sales channels.

Meanwhile, he has embarked on intensive processing of his products – such as cherry wine, okra crispy and cereal buns – winning praise from customers far and wide.

Currently, Wang's family farm has become a popular place for people to go to for sightseeing and relaxation. There are now hordes of tourists picking fruit in the peak season.