Tseng Chun-yi, from Taiwan, runs dragon fruit business in Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Although dragon fruit is tropical, Tseng is confident about planting it in northwestern China.

"Solar greenhouses can control temperatures to be suitable for the growth of dragon fruit," he said.

Previously, locally grown strawberries and small tomatoes could only be harvested in winter, but the fruit-bearing period for dragon fruit can last more than seven months, Tseng said.

"And the dragon fruit, which usually enters the full fruit stage within three to five years, can bear fruit for 20 years . So if dragon fruit is planted well, it will be a money tree for locals later on," Tseng said.

With the development of the dragon fruit industry, what Tseng conceives is not only planting but guiding and building a whole industrial chain for dragon fruit covering planting, deep processing of agricultural products, leisure tourism and e-commerce platforms to amplify the social and economic benefits.

Tseng said he hoped more young people from Taiwan would move to the mainland to engage in agriculture, a sector with great development potential for the future.