The staff of Yinong Flower Port transports the freshly picked roses. [Photo/Gansu Daily]

As autumn deepens in Linxia, Gansu province, a 200,000-square-meter smart greenhouse at the Yinong Flower Port defies the cold with a vibrant display of millions of blooming roses. Using soilless cultivation, climate control, and precision drip irrigation, the facility operates as a year-round "flower factory".

Located between 34 and 36 degrees north latitude, Linxia leverages its natural advantages — ample sunlight, dry climate, and low pest pressure — while using technology to overcome limitations from drought and cold winters. The first phase of the flower port, with an investment of 640 million yuan ($89.99 million), introduced advanced technology to build one of China's leading smart greenhouses. Its high-light-transmission, well-insulated glass structure provides an ideal growing environment.

Supported by precise environmental control and professional technical teams, the roses are of outstanding quality: 85 percent qualify as Grade A or B cut flowers, with a vase life exceeding 15 days. "A single rose sells for about 2 yuan domestically and 2.5 yuan abroad," said Zhang Xiaoliang, deputy general manager of Linxia Yinong Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Investment Co. "High quality commands better prices and enhances our competitiveness." So far this year, 3.52 million rose stems have been exported to Belt and Road countries, including Kazakhstan and Russia.

This "rose economy" also boosts local employment and incomes. The flower port provides 400 stable jobs annually, over 80 percent of which are industrial positions, with an average annual income of 45,000 yuan. It also supports nearly 4,000 jobs in related industries. These tech-enhanced roses from the Loess Plateau are becoming a floral name card along the Belt and Road countries, offering a fragrant model of high-quality, modern agricultural development in China.