Thanks to a scholarship granted by the Chinese government, I was able to travel to China for the second time after more than 10 years. During the period I was trained, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Mechanization Sciences organized several field trips. On one trip, our group of 22 participants and three staff members took the train to Kaifeng North station in Central China's Henan province and made out way to the Yuwangtai Project site.
I saw the rapid development in Henan's economy over the past two decades. This rapid growth was transformed with infrastructure facilities that match other provinces. Henan has a semi-industrialized economy, with agriculture playing a major role. According to past records Henan has the highest wheat and sesame production in China and is the second-highest rice output producer. This province also is an important producer of beef, cotton, maize, pork, animal oil and corn. Food production and processing is the province's secondary industry. Traditionally, Henan has been based on domestic industries but recent developments have diversified its industrial sector. Henan is actively trying to build its economy around the provincial capital of Zhengzhou. It is hoped that the province may become an important transportation and manufacturing hub in China. (Text: chinadaily.com.cn Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
The author has worked as a farm mechanical instructor over the past 30 years at the Department of Agriculture in Sri Lanka and is a freelance writer for leading National Level (Sinhala) newspapers and magazines in Sri Lanka.
