By Zhang Xiaodong, Guo Yue, Li Yanan, People’s Daily
In a smart agriculture pavilion at the Xinjiang Agricultural Expo Park in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, rows of leafy greens flourish on a mobile, multi-layered vertical growing system. It’s a vivid display of how advanced agricultural technology is reshaping farming practices in the region.
According to Yan Ji, director of the pavilion, the system’s artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms process over 100,000 data points per second, automatically adjusting devices such as wet curtain fans, shading screens, and supplemental lighting. This keeps environmental conditions stable and shortens the growth cycle for leafy vegetables from the usual 70 days to just 18 to 25 days.
By integrating frontier technologies such as spiral bio-mimetic cultivation, container farming, vertical rail systems, and reciprocating rotary racks, the smart agriculture pavilion supports three cultivation modes: vertical, circular planar, and traction-based systems. These approaches significantly boost crop output per unit of land. All equipment isinterconnected via a 5G network and centrally controlled, enabling full automation from seeding to harvest while reducing labor and saving water and fertilizer.
Today, the facility produces 100 tons of leafy vegetables and 70 tons of tomatoes annually. “Over 90% of the equipment used here is domestically made, and we’ve secured more than 50 patents,” Yan said.
The Xinjiang Agricultural Expo Park has introduced over 2,000 new crop varieties, technologies, and sets of equipment. More than 100 scientific research achievements have been put into practical use or demonstrated, and over 30 original patents have been filed.
At the production base of Xinjiang Boshiran Intelligent Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd., the pace of smart manufacturing is equally impressive.
Inside the facility, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) follow preset routes, scanning QR codes and transporting materials from warehouses to assembly lines, where cotton harvesters are being assembled in an orderly fashion. A large digital display tracks real-time data on equipment status, daily energy consumption, and product quality.
“The addition of laser cutters and large CNC (computer numerical control) machines has greatly enhanced both efficiency and product quality,” said Wu Yongcheng, director of the general manager’s office.
“In 2024, our cotton harvesters accounted for nearly 50% of the domestic market,” said Zeng Xiaowen, director of the company’s after-sales service center. “We’re also expanding globally, with our four-row and six-row cotton harvesters now being exported to Central Asia, Australia, Egypt, and other markets.”
By the end of 2024, the level of mechanization in plowing, planting, and harvesting across Xinjiang reached 90 percent, placing the region among the national leaders in agricultural modernization.
Today, farmers in Xinjiang can be seen in crisp shirts while operating drones in the fields as a new generation of high-tech agriculture is taking root.
With the support of agricultural drones, the Internet of Things (IoT), and intelligent farm management systems, two young farmers born in the 1990s, Ai Haipeng and Ling Lei, manage several thousand mu (1 mu≈667 square meters) of cotton fields in Yuli county, Mongolian autonomous prefecture of Bayingolin in Xinjiang.
At first, their ambitions faced skepticism from local cotton growers who had been farming for decades. “Managing 3,000 mu of cotton typically requires a team of 20 or 30 people,” they were told. “How can two guys with no farming experience possibly handle it?”
Yet they proved the doubters wrong. By adopting a technique called “cotton-wheat strip intercropping,” they have significantly improved seedling emergence rates and harvest efficiency. They apply pesticides using drones, reducing chemical use and lowering costs. Remote sensing drones are used to monitor crop height and precisely track plant growth, while intelligent integrated water and fertilizer systems minimize fertilizer use. Not only do they manage the fields well, they have also achieved higher-than-average yields.
Hundreds of kilometers away, in Manas county of Changji Hui autonomous prefecture, field management is also undergoing a revolution powered by smart technology.
May is typically the busiest time of year in the cotton fields, but this year, almost no presence of farmers could be found in the fields in Manas. Instead, intelligent sprayers were moving methodically through rows of cotton.
“Our village has a modern agricultural cooperative,” said Song Guolin, a major cotton grower in Shangzhuangzi village, Letuyi township, Manas county. “All our tractors are equipped with satellite-guided autopilot systems, precision seeders, and intelligent spraying machines. From planting to harvesting, it’s all done by machines.”
Even spraying schedules are automated. “We have sensors in the cotton fields that collect environmental data. Technicians analyze that information to tell us exactly when to spray,” said Xu Rongwen, a farmer in Guangfeng village, Guangdongdi township. “Technologyacts like a ‘nanny’ for our fields. It makes farming easier and gives us confidence,” Xu added
