The village of Shangwaquan, near the city of Zibo, Shandong province, announced the opening of its second strawberry picking festival and hiking competition, on Jan 18, and had hundreds of visitors eager to experience this form of eco-tourism, not only picking strawberries, but also buying organic products and tasting some local snacks.

Opening ceremony of 2nd Strawberry Festival, in Shangwaquan, Shandong, on Jan 18. [Photo/Zhou Guangying]

The village's first festival was in 2014, along with the second blueberry festival and first mountain-cycling competition to promote its organic agriculture and eco-tourism, and, in commenting on these, one villager named Wang said, "We're benefiting from organic agriculture and strawberries, bringing in more than 70,000 yuan ($11,300), compared with the wheat and corn plantation, which brought in only about 2,000 yuan for a 700- square-meter plot of land."

Children picking organic strawberries in Shangwaquan village. [Photo/Zhou Guangying]

Wang Jincheng, the village Party secretary, explained that they've built around 100 organic strawberry greenhouses and see more than 5,000 visitors a day, making the village the biggest self-picking site in the region.

Typical organic strawberries, in Shangwaquan village, Shandong province. [Photo/Zhou Guangying]

The nearby town of Boshan saw 200,000 tourists in 2014, and related revenue of 25 million yuan, while its strawberries, chives, blueberries and haw have a special indicator in China.

Wang Qian contributed to the story