Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Liu Yi) news: At a themed exhibition in celebration of the 70th founding anniversary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a red 24-horsepower wheeled tractor of "Yuejin" brand has drawn the attention of many visitors, who are eager to take photos with it and learn the stories it has to tell.

Produced in 1958, it was among the first tractors manufactured in Xinjiang. It not only marked a breakthrough in Xinjiang's agricultural machinery manufacturing but also served as one of the prototypes for the tractor featured on the one-yuan banknote of the third series of the renminbi.

Photo shows the "Yuejin" tractor displayed at a themed exhibition in celebration of the 70th founding anniversary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at a cultural center in Urumqi, the regional capital. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/Liu Yi)

Before the "Yuejin" tractor came into being, Xinjiang's tractors were mostly imported, with a total of just over 350 units. For the vast expanse of arable land in Xinjiang, this was like a drop in the bucket. At the beginning of the People's Republic of China, Xinjiang's total grain output was only 1.1 million tons, with per capita grain falling short of 200 kilograms. This was below the 280-kilogram food security line set by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The 400-kilogram safety line was even further out of reach. Without mechanization, having enough to eat was a luxury for people in Xinjiang.

Early October sees the vast cotton fields across the Tianshan Mountains in full bloom, with endless neat fields. Advanced agricultural machinery is conducting standardized and intensive harvesting operations. The large-scale mechanized harvesting in Xinjiang creates a stunning geometric spectacle.

During this year's summer harvest alone, more than 14,000 combine harvesters were put into operation. "Machinery as the main force" has become the norm in agricultural production nowadays.

If not for being an exhibit, such an old tractor might have long become scrap iron. However, without these "antiques," the leapfrog development of Xinjiang's agricultural machinery would have no starting point.

Looking back on the 70-year journey, Xinjiang's agricultural machinery has evolved from being entirely dependent on imports to becoming a globally competitive exporter. The level of agricultural mechanization has also advanced from merely replacing heavy manual labor to achieving automated harvesting, and now to realizing full-process automated and precise control in agricultural production. Mechanization has acted like a powerful engine, driving the technological leap of modern agriculture in Xinjiang.

Mechanization is the key to the future of agriculture. Between 1955 and 1980, Xinjiang's agricultural machinery industry began with the production of semi-mechanized tools. It established a group of large and medium-sized agricultural machinery manufacturing backbone enterprises, represented by the October Tractor Factory. Agricultural machinery repair and manufacturing factories and agricultural machinery supply and marketing systems were also set up in various counties and cities, accelerating the popularization of agricultural machinery. As a result, Xinjiang's agricultural planting gradually shifted from being mainly based on human and animal power to mechanization.

After the 1980s, when China implemented the household contract responsibility system in rural areas, the state allowed farmers to purchase and operate agricultural machinery independently. The focus of the agricultural machinery industry shifted to producing small and medium-sized agricultural machinery, and agricultural production gradually achieved mechanized operations such as precision and small-quantity sowing and film-covered sowing.

After the 1990s, Xinjiang's agricultural machinery development entered a market-led stage, with a recovery and rapid development of large and medium-sized agricultural machinery and harvesting machinery.

After 2000, to adapt to the adjustment of Xinjiang's crop structure, the joint plowing and mechanized harvesting of major field crops such as grain, cotton, and tomatoes gradually realized. Navigation, drip irrigation, drones, and other mechanized operations began to take off, and agricultural production gradually entered an era of high automation and strong precision operation capabilities, moving towards intelligentization.

In the new era, driven by the national agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policy, Xinjiang's high-end agricultural machinery manufacturing industry has gradually emerged. It has promoted the development of agricultural machinery equipment towards larger size, specialization, intelligence, and greener direction.

Xinjiang has continuously increased subsidies and promotion of mechanical equipment in forestry, animal husbandry, and primary processing of agricultural products. Policies such as agricultural machinery subsidies have benefited the people. Intelligent agricultural machinery equipment with high intelligence, such as plant protection drones, has been widely used in various aspects of agricultural production.

The development of agricultural mechanization is a dynamic process of continuous replacement and updating of old and new equipment.

Since 2020, Xinjiang has intensified and expanded the implementation of the agricultural machinery scrapping and updating subsidy policy. The whole region has guided farmers to actively apply for the scrapping of 69,000 old agricultural machines and paid out 250 million yuan (about 35.075 million U.S. dollars) in subsidies.

The number of large tractors with 100 horsepower and above in the region has increased by 20,000 units. The total number of large intelligent baling cotton harvesters has reached more than 4,600 units, basically completing the iterative upgrade of old box-type cotton harvesters. More than 4,000 old plows, combined land leveling machines, seeders, and other agricultural tools have been eliminated. The structure of agricultural machinery equipment in the region continues to optimize, and agricultural mechanization has formed a good situation of transformation and upgrading towards the whole process, comprehensiveness, high quality, and high efficiency.

By the end of 2024, the total power of agricultural machinery in the region (including the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps) reached 26.6 million kilowatts. The comprehensive mechanization rate for crop cultivation, planting, and harvesting reached 90.28 percent, higher than the national average and ranking among the top in the country.

Xinjiang has also become an important base for China's agricultural machinery exports. Locally developed products such as cotton harvesters and plows, with their high efficiency and cost-effectiveness, continue to expand their market share in Central Asian countries and Russia.

Thanks to the support of agricultural mechanization, Xinjiang's supply capacity for major agricultural products such as grain and cotton continues to improve.

In 2024, the total grain output reached 23.3 billion kilograms, making Xinjiang the region with the highest amount of grain available for transfer in the country. The total cotton output reached 5.686 million tons, accounting for 92.3 percent of the national total and ranking first in the country for 32 consecutive years.

Xinjiang is transforming from a former desert wasteland into the country's granary.

In the tide of the times and technological development, the mission of the "Yuejin" tractor has come to an end, but the leapfrog path of agricultural mechanization it initiated in Xinjiang continues.

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