Zhuangzitian, a village once severely impacted by rocky desertification in Southwest China's Yunnan province, has reversed a decades-long trend of environmental degradation and economic migration by developing a 15-million-yuan ($2.2 million) cactus cultivation and processing industry.
According to local village data, the initiative has successfully restored 80 hectares of previously barren land in the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao autonomous prefecture. The ecological shift has increased regional vegetation coverage from 32 percent to 75 percent and reduced annual soil erosion by an estimated 12,000 metric tons.
The environmental rehabilitation has triggered an economic turnaround for the village, which previously saw 70 percent of its young and middle-aged population leave for urban centers due to a shortage of arable land. By 2025, per capita income in Zhuangzitian reached 32,000 yuan, representing a 2.2-fold increase from 2022 levels and prompting a full return of the village's migrant workforce.
Opening a path
The restructuring program began in 2021 under the direction of Lu Chunhong, the village Party branch secretary, who returned to Zhuangzitian after two decades in the private sector. Lu targeted the region's native cactus population — a drought-resistant plant that had been grown on a small scale for over 200 years but lacked commercial scale or supply chain integration.
Traditionally, a household growing cacti on 0.67 hectares could earn up to 15,000 yuan annually from selling fresh fruit. However, by creating a cooperative that processes the fruit into dried products, their annual income could potentially increase more than threefold.
To incentivize participation, Lu established an agricultural cooperative and introduced a formalized collective profit-sharing model: 50 percent of returns are allocated to villagers who pool their land assets, 30 percent is distributed evenly among all residents, and 20 percent is directed into public welfare funds.
The villagers were soon convinced and eagerly pooled their land into the cooperative, initiating large-scale cactus cultivation.
With years of business experience, Lu realized that to propel the cactus industry forward, it was essential to extend the value chain.
He spearheaded the development of a comprehensive system that includes seedling cultivation, technical guidance and product procurement. A 4,000-square-meter processing facility was established to seamlessly integrate harvesting, processing and storage, effectively tackling challenges like cactus preservation and initial processing limitations.
Lu actively collaborated with institutions like China Agricultural University in Beijing and Southwest Forestry University in Kunming to form a 20-member research and development team, creating over 10 high-value-added products such as cactus beer and enzymes. This shift from selling raw materials to marketing finished products and brands enhanced the value-added potential by more than threefold.
To diversify sales channels, Lu partnered with a local agricultural investment company to establish a specialized operations team that covers offline supply, online sales and exports. As a result, the products are now available across several provinces and in neighboring countries.
In August 2025, 20 tons of edible cactus pads were exported to Vietnam, representing China's first cross-border shipment of these products, according to Kunming Customs.
Truong Cong Le Hoang, an executive member of the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association, sampled cactus-based products like cactus beverages, describing their main advantages as having a "health concept" and "cultural appeal".
As the cactus market grows, the village has expanded its cultivation, reaching approximately 333 hectares last year, with a total annual output value of 15 million yuan.
