Binju Overseas Chinese Farm in Binchuan County, Dali
Binju Overseas Chinese Farm(大理市宾居华侨农场), established in October 1956, is one of the earliest state-owned overseas Chinese farms in Yunnan Province’s Binchuan County. It serves as a hub for trade and resource exchange in Upper Chuanba, Binchuan.
Farm Overview:
Located 20 kilometers north of the county seat, surrounded by two towns and six villages, the farm sits at an altitude of 1537 meters. It experiences a subtropical highland monsoon climate, with an average annual temperature of 17.4°C, an average annual sunshine duration of 2700 hours, and annual rainfall of 559.4 millimeters. The total land area of the farm is 8873 mu (about 591.5 hectares). Currently, it accommodates 780 households and 2402 people, including 1925 returnees and their families, comprising 80% of the farm’s population. These returnees originate primarily from countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, India, and Indonesia.
The farm is a state-owned agricultural enterprise under county management, with administrative offices, including 1 management team and various institutions like 9 production teams, Binju Refrigeration Co., Ltd., kindergarten, and elderly committee. It hosts facilities such as schools, hospitals, police stations, credit cooperatives, postal services, and telecommunications.
Enterprise Affiliations:
Binju Refrigeration Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Binju Overseas Chinese Farm, has a total investment of 8.9 million yuan and occupies an area of 9097.5 square meters. It integrates cold storage, fruit and vegetable processing, and sales. The company boasts 1700 tons of storage capacity, including 4 controlled atmosphere rooms (600 tons), 5 high-temperature rooms (750 tons), 1 low-temperature room (150 tons), 1 ice storage room (200 tons), and an ice-making facility producing 15 tons daily. It operates a production line for fruit and vegetable cleaning, polishing, waxing, grading, and packaging with a daily processing capacity of 50 tons, alongside a four-story comprehensive office building. It is one of Yunnan Province’s most technologically advanced cold storage facilities.
Specialized Agriculture:
Since 1959, the farm has been cultivating citrus fruits. In 1990, with provincial support, large-scale citrus cultivation was promoted. By August 2007, citrus cultivation covered 5000 mu (about 333 hectares), accounting for 87% of the total arable land and yielding 16 million kilograms annually, becoming a pillar industry for the farm’s economy. Since implementing pesticide-free citrus production in 2002, the farm earned recognition as a green technology demonstration zone by Binchuan County in 2003. It received provincial pesticide-free citrus food certification and pesticide-free agricultural product production base certification in May 2004, followed by national pesticide-free food certification from the Ministry of Agriculture in September of the same year. The farm’s “Binju” trademark is registered, and efforts are ongoing to secure green food certification, laying the foundation for citrus to enter international markets.
