West China's muskmelons roll into Beijing

Tonnes of muskmelons grown in west China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region rolled into Beijing on Wednesday, as a local government strives to help farmers boost sales.

A direct flight between Beijing and Hami opened Tuesday and will be offered by Air China three times a week. The flight makes air transportation of muskmelons more convenient.

Beijing residents can now eat Hami melons picked less than 24 hours previously, after the government of Hami Prefecture in the east of Xinjiang helped set up cooperations between farmers, forwarding agents, dealers and retailers.

Hami melon is a variety of muskmelon produced in Hami Prefecture, well-known across the country for being juicy and sweet.

"Fifty tonnes of Hami melons will arrive in Beijing in the next week and we plan to transport more to Beijing and other metropolises such as Shanghai and Guangzhou," said Zhu Xinyuan, a government official with the city of Hami.

The prefecture has 68,000 mu (4,533 hectares) of melon fields which yield 100,000 tonnes of muskmelons annually.

"Poor weather, unstable distribution channels and competition with muskmelons produced in other regions have put great pressure on farmers in Hami," said Zhu.

The official said that even during a bumper harvest, farmers may not be able to make ends meet.