In golden September, Hongqipo in Aksu, Xinjiang, at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, ushers in the apple ripening season. The fragrance of apples wafts through the forest belts with the wind. In the demonstration orchard of Fengqingyuan Farmers' Professional Cooperative, director Du Minchao and grower Wang Yunzhi are squatting under an apple tree, checking the fruit coloring. "Look at the fruit surface—no waxing needed, just wipe it and it shines. Cut it open and see the sugar heart, it's solid," Du Minchao says while gesturing. Looking at the apples about to ripen and hit the market, Wang Yunzhi beams with joy. This seemingly ordinary field conversation reflects the high-quality development path of Aksu's apple industry, from barren Gobi desert to a golden name card for enriching the people.

Du Minchao's connection with this orchard began in 2007. At that time, he came to Hongqipo Farm to contract 400 mu of land, at the edge of the Kekeya million-mu desert greening project—a barren Gobi wasteland. "Nothing grew here then; when the wind blew, it was all sand. But seeing the windbreak forest belt blocking the sand, and that apples could be grown inside the belt with good quality and profit, we made up our minds," Du Minchao recalls. In the early reclamation period, the land was poor, so they used large amounts of organic fertilizer, nurturing the land year by year. The trees took 12 years to bear fruit. Now in the 18th year, the yield per mu reaches about 3 tons, and the 400-mu orchard produces over 1,000 tons annually.

In planting management, Du Minchao insists on not using a single grain of chemical fertilizer, using bio-organic fertilizer throughout, implementing green prevention and control, installing anti-hail nets overhead and laying reflective film on the ground. The cooperative was established in 2014 and currently has 72 member households, managing over 8,000 mu of apple orchards, adopting a "company + cooperative + farmer" model. The company is responsible for scientific planting, refined management, diversified processing, and brand marketing; the cooperative unifies technical training and sales channels; and the fruit farmers implement the measures. This closed-loop management has raised the premium fruit rate to over 90%, with net income per mu generally 30% higher than other orchards. It also radiates to nearly 100,000 mu of surrounding orchards and creates over 20,000 jobs annually.

Hongqipo is the core production area of Aksu's "Rock Candy Heart" apples. Hongqipo Farm was established in 1958 and currently has 281,000 mu of forest and fruit area, including 188,900 mu of apple orchards, with an annual output of about 300,000 tons. The name "Hongqipo" is not only synonymous with Aksu apples but also a golden name card for Xinjiang's forest and fruit industry. From the edge of the desert to large-scale orchards, Hongqipo's transformation reflects the dual improvement of ecological and economic benefits in the local forest and fruit industry.

The extension of the industry chain provides new space for apple value addition. Hu Jiangtao, deputy manager of the production and operation department of Xinjiang Hongqipo Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Investment Development Group Co., Ltd., introduced that in recent years, the group has continuously promoted standardized and refined management, built a 30,000-ton phase-temperature controlled atmosphere storage, fruit sorting workshops, and multiple deep-processing production lines, completed digital filing of forest and fruit plots, and established a blockchain traceability system, achieving one-item-one-code and full traceability for fruit products. From "selling fresh fruit" to "selling standards" and "selling brands," the added value of Aksu apples is continuously rising along the industry chain.

Heading south from Hongqipo, in the apple orchard of Kongtailik Farm in Ruifeng Village, Liuyuan Town, Aksu City, another harvest is underway. Grower Yang Dong leads workers through the trees, picking, sorting, and packing. This year he planted 1,200 mu of Qile Tianxin apples, a variety with small fruit but sugar content reaching about 17, and vitamin content over 65% higher than ordinary apples. "Each mu yields one and a half tons. The price is very good now, so we're hurrying to finish picking and sell at a good price," Yang Dong says. The promotion of new varieties has allowed more fruit farmers to taste the sweetness of differentiated competition.

From "sweetness from the branches" to "chain extending deeper," Aksu's apple industry is solidifying its quality foundation with standardized planting, gathering development strength with the cooperative model, and enhancing brand credibility with digital traceability. A high-quality development chain spanning planting, processing, sales, and branding is making the "Rock Candy Heart" at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains sweeter and more stable, spreading further, and providing a replicable industrial model for rural revitalization.