LIN ZHIPING, a former employee of a Shenzhen construction company, is reaping quite a harvest after renting a barren hillside and turning it into a flourishing orchard.

Now dozens of locals are queuing up to buy his loquats — the “first fruit of spring” in Shenzhen.

It took Lin eight years to transform the hill, which now produces more than 100,000 kilograms of the fruit, and this has earned him the nickname of “loquat king.”

Lin’s orchard, occupying more than 13.3 hectares between Songzikeng reservoir and Sankesong reservoir in Pingshan, Longgang District, attracts many customers seeking fresh fruit.

“My friends and I had hoped to buy 20 baskets, but there are only 16 baskets left,” a report in Daily Sunshine quoted a customer as saying. Despite not advertising his fruit, Lin’s loquats sell like hot cakes, the report said. The plum-like fruits, which mature naturally, are juicy and fresh.

After graduating from Zhangzhou Architecture School in Fujian Province in 1985, Lin came to Shenzhen in 1994 to work for a construction company in Pingshan.

He began to grow litchi with a friend after being fired, but in the face of fierce competition from established litchi farmers, he was not successful.

Then, realizing that most of the loquats sold in Shenzhen markets came from his home province of Fujian, Lin decided to give it a try.

“I learned from books and from experienced farmers back in my hometown,” he said.

Lin planted 600 loquat trees of the breed Zaozhong No. 6 after learning from a friend that quarrying had left more than 13 hectares of a hill in Pingshan deserted. “I was determined to turn it into a green orchard,” he said.

As the soil on the hill had turned into sand, Lin had to carry soil up and also build a water tank on top of the hill. Unable to afford a helper, Lin even built the paths leading to the orchard himself.

For a period of seven months, Lin woke up at 5 a.m. every day to dig holes for 15,000 trees. By the end of 2000, the saplings had been planted.

A year later, Lin reaped his first harvest. His orchard has also been chosen as a teaching and research base of South China University of Agriculture.  (Li Dan)