Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Zhang Zhili) news: "The vegetables we cultivate are quite popular; they sell well in supermarkets, and hotels and hot pot restaurants are eager to buy them," said Aili Kerimu, an employee harvesting hydroponic spinach alongside his colleagues at a digital agriculture plant factory in Yongkutongxin Village, Yuqiwusitang Township, Kuqa City, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on December 20, 2024.

Aili, a villager from Daierwazhaya Village in Yuqiwusitang Township, registered for work here when the digital agriculture plant factory in the neighboring village was set to commence operations in early October. He was pleasantly surprised to find that not only were the wages relatively high, but he also encountered the innovative method of growing high-quality leafy vegetables without pesticides, using nutrient solutions and water—something he had never heard of before.

Photo taken on November 26, 2024 shows employees harvest the first batch of hydroponic spinach at a digital agriculture plant factory in Yongkutongxin Village, Yuqiwusitang Township, Kuqa City, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

"In just 25 days, I successfully cultivated the first batch of leafy greens under the guidance of my mentor, which felt quite impressive, considering it used to take 70 days to grow a similar crop in the field," Aili said, tearing off a leaf and chewing it, praising this green vegetable could be eaten directly without washing.

In addition to Aili, nearly 20 young people from Yongkutongxin village and neighbouring villages work at the digital agricultural plant factory. Aili said that when they were tilling the land with traditional tools, they could never have imagined that they would one day be working in a clean environment in a plant factory. Their tasks now include monitoring the plant factory's lighting conditions, temperature and humidity, carbon dioxide levels and the pH of the nutrient solution using advanced technological equipment.

"The working environment is clean and it's close to home. I really appreciate this job, and I often talk to my mentor while I work, as there is an endless amount of knowledge to acquire," said Aili, noting that his basic monthly salary is more than 3,000 yuan, which is higher than his previous earnings from part-time jobs.

Photo taken on November 22, 2024 shows a technician instructs employees on hydroponic vegetable management techniques at a digital agriculture plant factory in Yongkutongxin Village, Yuqiwusitang Township, Kuqa City, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

By the end of 2023, with the support of east China’s Ningbo City, Kuqa has focused on precise investment attraction to meet the agricultural industry development needs of the region. The modern agricultural project of "Tongxin Gongfu Workshop" digital agriculture plant factory is being prominently developed in Yongkutongxin Village. The total investment for the project amounts to 100 million yuan (about 13.7 million U.S. dollars), with construction commencing in May of this year and official production set to begin in mid-October.

Zhang Yaping, the operator of the plant factory, explained that the digital agricultural plant factory cultivates eight varieties of hydroponic vegetables, capable of producing 18 to 20 harvests annually, with an output exceeding 10 tons per mu (one mu equals about 0.067 hectares), which is eight to ten times that of traditional greenhouse vegetables.

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