Huang Yifeng, general manager of Hainan Jindefeng Agricultural Development Co, became the first person to apply intensive farming to wax apples on the Chinese mainland.
The 61-year-old from Taiwan said the combination of the island's growing technology and management experience and the vast Chinese mainland market has enabled the production and sale of Hainan's wax apples to flourish, and he believes that the future prospects for fruit are better than for many others.
For over two decades, Huang has dedicated himself to introducing and promoting the fruit, frequently visiting Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities across the country. Today, the company has three plantations — in Haikou, Wenchang and Tunchang — maintaining some 50,000 trees on about 1,113 hectares.
Now their self-developed variety, known as "China Red", is a national bestseller, and Huang has become known as the "king of wax apples" in the country.
Huang is also helping with the development of Hainan's wax apple sector by training 700 students at the Hainan Agricultural School and helping villagers around his plantations plant 33.33 hectares of the fruit.
As one of the few places in the country suitable for growing wax apples, Hainan is now engaged in large-scale planting. The emerging sector is raising farm incomes and efficiency, and wax apples have become a calling card for Hainan's efficient tropical agriculture.
