The Mainling Farm is the largest modernized farm on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which lays 38 kilometers far from Bayi Town, capital of Nyingchi Prefecture in southeast Tibet Autonomous Region.

On the farm, rows of greenhouses are arranged tidily and apple trees are blossoming, which lights up visitors' eyes immediately.

According to the farm's head Xiao Huaxin, Mainling Farm has evolved into the largest fruit planting base, fruit seed breeding base and poultry breeding base of Tibet, after many years of development.

At present, a high quality apple model base of 1,380 mu has been established on the Mainling Farm, as well as a highland fruit and vegetable planting base covering 145 conjoined steel framed greenhouses and a land of 100 mu, a highland featured flower breeding base covering over 80 mu, a high quality seed breeding base of 150 monomer greenhouses and a Tibetan herb planting base of 1,500 mu, according to Xiao. (1mu= 667 square meters)

Over 700 tons of eggs could be produced every year in the ecological breeding base, as well as 15,000 live pigs.

In recent years, the farm has been honored a series of titles such as famous trademark and leading enterprise of Tibet Autonomous Region. In 2012, Mainling Farm was certificated as pollution-free agricultural products base by the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China, with the eggs produced here affirmed as pollution-free agricultural products.

"In 2012 an advanced pig production line was introduced here from Germany and the total production value of pigs reached over 50 million yuan (over 8 million US dollars) in 2013, which is far more productive than traditional planting industry," said Xiao.

Along with increasing output value, the new production line also provides a large number of job opportunities for local people, offering an average salary of over 3,000 yuan (482 US dollars) per month, said Wangdu, a farm employee who began to work here since the factory's foundation three years ago.

With an average elevation of over 2,900 meters, Mainling Farm enjoys advantageous natural conditions of fruit planting: the strong ultraviolet rays, plenty of sunshine, large temperature difference between day and night, as well as little pollution in Tibet. Owning a famous brand of green food "Karma", fruits produced by Mainling Farm are widely welcomed among Tibetans.

In old Tibet, the farm was specialized in producing fruits as a kind of tributes for monks and nobles of upper class. After the founding of Mainling Farm in 1960, it began to update itself continuously to serve ordinary residents on the plateau.

Moreover, the Mainling Farm also expands its business to breeding seedlings of featured flowers, pollution-free vegetables, mushrooms, and to chicken farming and liquor production. Now it has possessed the position of the largest industrial fruit base, seedling breeding base, and pollution-free poultry and eggs supply base of Tibet.

 
File photo shows the tourist orchard of Mainling Farm in spring. [Photo/ xzmlnc.com]