Villagers branch out to embrace olive oil riches

The processing industry is helping to raise rural incomes. Hou Liqiang reports from Longnan, Gansu.

Though still regarded as a newcomer to China, the olive tree is nicknamed the "premier's tree" because Premier Zhou Enlai introduced the Mediterranean native in 1964.

That year, Zhou not only promoted the importation of about 10,000 olive trees from Albania, but also planted one in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province.

Now, the tree has become a source of prosperity in Longnan city, Gansu province. Its fruit has helped lift thousands of residents out of poverty as they, with local government support, fulfill Zhou's wish that the tree－whose fruit contains an oil rich in healthy antioxidants－should benefit rural people.