"I have done a lot of agricultural experiments in the past few years," said Xiao Shiming, a yellow peach farmer in Yanling County, Hunan Province, central China.

Xiao has no higher education degrees, but he is trying out different agricultural techniques and is becoming an expert. 

In 2013, Xiao started work on a 10-acre peach orchard, which he has now expanded to 16 acres. With the help of others, the Yanling yellow peach industry is growing bigger and stronger. In recent years, it has played a core role in poverty alleviation in the county. 

Xiao's "laboratory" is located on the western side of the 1,200-meter-high mountains, rich in precipitation. However, too much rainfall can affect the quality of the peaches. 

To overcome that, Xiao built a water-proof greenhouse, covering trees wit a membrane before the picking time this year. Thanks to the greenhouse, Xiao had a bumper crop of yellow peaches. 

Xiao learned this technique from an expert at Shanghai Agricultural Research Institute on a study trip. In recent years, he has participated in many trips to learn new techniques. 
  
The orchard is relatively advanced, armed with all sorts of scientific inventions and equipment. Each tree has its own "ID card" recording specific data, while eco-friendly fertilizer, solar-powered insecticidal lamps and a high-efficiency fertilizer distributor are all used. 

Last year, the county established planting demonstration areas to promote the new techniques, and Xiao's peach orchard was on the list.  

Xiao is happy to share his experience with villagers, not only in planting but also fertilizing and weeding. He also gives equipment to the poor farmers free of charge.  

Now about 40 farmers in the area have started to plant yellow peaches, and 10 of them have risen out of poverty. 

The poor households are not only helped by model farmers like Xiao Shiming, but also by government support. 

On November 3, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hunan and first put forward the concept of "targeted poverty alleviation."  

In practice, the local government of Yanling organizes technicians to train farmers, and sends experts to track the growth of fruit trees every year.  

How to find more buyers is another question for the local government. "We want our farmers to become agri-businessmen. To obtain long-term development, they need to acquire the ability to turn their commodities into cash," said Tan Zhongcheng, deputy director of the yellow peach industry office in Yanling County.  

According to statistics, Yanling has about 6,000 farmers selling yellow peaches through WeChat, China's most popular social media platform. The county government also provides pictures and slogans for farmers to advertise their products. 

Thanks to technology, Xiao has made a lot money from yellow peaches, and he bought a 400,000-yuan ($60,000) car. The yellow peach industry has helped more than 14,000 farmers shake off poverty. 

(Liu Yang also contributed to this article)