JINAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Wang Cuifen, a farmer in east China's Shandong Province, will celebrate her harvest this autumn in a new way, along with 600 million other Chinese farmers.
Last week, China designated a special day for farmers to celebrate their annual harvest, which will fall on the Autumnal Equinox, usually between Sept. 22 and 24, each year.
"The Chinese farmers' harvest festival is a day for farmers to celebrate and enjoy their harvest," said Han Changfu, minister of agriculture and rural affairs. It is also an occasion to display the country's agricultural traditions, he added.
"The festival will give greater importance to rural work, speed up the implementation of China's rural vitalization strategy, and push for faster development of agriculture and rural areas," Han said.
"For the first time, we farmers will celebrate our own festival. It will give us more confidence in our work," said 50-year-old Wang, who has been contracting farmland for more than 20 years and now cultivates over 240 hectares of wheat and vegetables.
Since 2012, the Chinese government has issued a series of policies to benefit the country's vast number of farmers and promote agricultural technology, green development and rural reform.
"The agricultural sector has been gradually modernized," said Wang. In her fields, the production of wheat and corn has been fully mechanized, drones have been used for spraying pesticide, while a lot of work can be finished with the help of mobile applications.
Lei Yingguo, who cultivates a large plot of paddy field in east China's Jiangxi Province, said the new festival gives him hope to pursue a successful career as a farmer.
"This shows the government is focused on the affairs of farmers and rural areas. I think the festival will help elevate the social status of farmers," Lei said.
Zhou Dangzhi, a farmer in Xiaogang Village, often dubbed the cradle of China's rural reform, hailed the harvest festival as an acknowledgment to farmers and their hard work.
"I am very encouraged by the creation of the festival. I feel motivated to do a better job," Zhou said.
Han, the agricultural minister, said during the festival a variety of celebrations will be organized to display the agricultural harvest, rural technology achievements and farmers' creativeness. But he also cautioned against extravagance and waste in the celebrations.
Like many farmers, Lei already has a plan for celebrating the first-ever harvest festival this autumn.
"I am going to invite fellow farmers to the celebrations and discuss the future of modernized agriculture as well as the future in rural areas," Lei said.
