China’s seed ‘Silicon Valley’ in Nanfan strives for tech innovation, but long-time basic research, investment needed for global competition
Zhang Hongpei and Zhao Juecheng in Sanya Published: May 19, 2021 06:06 PM
About 30 years ago when Li was still a little boy, he remembered a time when many agricultural researchers across the country came to his hometown in Sanya s Yazhou district, South China s Hainan Province, for plant breeding, because the tropical island province can help shorten the breeding cycle of a variety by one third or a half. I cannot forget that a researcher from North China s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region cried very sadly when the sorghum he planted was mostly eaten by sparrows, and from that moment on, I came to know that my hometown would become a key national breeding base, Li, now a taxi driver, told the Global Times during the trip from Yazhou station to the Nanfan Technology City in the district.