Guangdong province announced the recommended candidates for the National Model Workers and Advanced Workers in 2025 on March 10, among whom Feng Guanjie, vice chairman of the Shatian Lemon Agricultural Cooperative in Baiyun district, Guangzhou, was selected.

Born in 1987 in Shatian village, Feng is among the few college graduates. He previously worked at a well-known real estate company. Still, he returned to his hometown to cultivate Shatian lemons, a local specialty known for its high quality but low market price.

Delving into the fields, Feng established production techniques starting from seedlings, improved the quality of Shatian lemons, branded the product, and increased both its selling price and the income of local farmers.

Shatian lemons. [Photo/WeChat account: gz_baiyunfabu]

From 2021 to 2022, farmers' income per mu (0.06 hectare) reached over 50,000 yuan ($6,920). Leading farmers to expand cultivation, he turned Shatian village into the largest Shatian lemon planting base in Guangdong province, earning the provincial title of "One village, one product, one town, one industry".

Feng also developed the secondary industry, independently researching and producing products such as lemon stewed with rock sugar, lemon jam, and deep-processed products like lemon essential oil, thereby boosting the economic returns of the cooperative.

Leveraging the geographical advantage of Shatian village located at the foot of Maofeng Mountain, he initiated fruit-picking tourism activities, contributing to the development of the rural tourism industry.