An aerial shot of wheat fields. [Photo/zhoushan.cn]

A 60-hectare wheat field in Dinghai district, Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, now stands as reclamation of saline-alkali land.

Initiated in 2023, with an investment of 100 million ($14 million), this key project aims to ultimately reclaim 80 hectares of arable land through advanced soil treatment methods.

China Communications Construction Company Tianjin Dredging, the project contractor, has completed two construction phases including pond sediment replacement, land leveling, and irrigation system installation. Following five crop cycles of field management, last year's trial rice harvest demonstrated the land's restored fertility. This season's 60-hectare wheat field is expected to yield 6,000 kilograms per hectare by early June, while reservoir construction prepares the fields for autumn rice planting.

The remaining 18.25 hectares are undergoing reclamation with parallel development of pump stations and irrigation channels, said Jia Xiaoqiang, the project manager of CCCC Tianjin Dredging.

As of now, the first batch of land with an area of 20 hectares has completed land-use designation changes, with the reclaimed plots now available to support major development projects.

This agricultural revival turns previously unusable coastal terrain into productive fields, demonstrating innovative solutions for regional food security and land resource challenges.