The Trichosanthes kirilowii, also known as the Chinese snake gourd, is a famous agricultural specialty of Xixiang. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

A trade fair featuring agricultural specialties from Xixiang county was held on June 1 in Qidong, a county-level city administered by Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province.

Fifteen leading agricultural producers from Xixiang, administered by Hanzhong city in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, signed deals worth over 3 million yuan ($454,791) with Qidong buyers.

In April 2017, Qidong – a top 100 county-level city in China in terms of its economy – established a friendly pairing-assistance relationship with Xixiang. The latter is a relatively undeveloped area and the goal was to transform it into China's most beautiful tea-producing region, to help lift it of poverty.

After the relationship was established, Qidong provided strong support for Xixiang to use Jiangsu-Shaanxi special funds to give priority to the development of agriculture.

With 5 million yuan of those special funds, Xixiang Shukeduo Food Co Ltd came into production last September. In 2021, the sweet potato chips it sold in Qidong were worth more than 800,000 yuan. It has confidence that this year's sales will double.

Xixiang is a place known for its tea across the country. Xixiang Bashan Qiaoyuan Tea Co Ltd, established in December 2011, specializes in planting, production, processing, research, development, sales, e-commerce and the export trade of tea.

The company's general manager Shang Lei signed contracts worth over 270,000 yuan at the Qidong trade fair on June 1 and he was confident about further expanding the market in the city.