After five years of developing their seasoning industry, Yang'an town in Laoling, a county-level city of Dezhou, Shandong province has seen quality growth thanks to local government's efforts towards cultivating the industry into one that vitalizes the rural area.

With a population of 50,000, the town has 33,000 people doing business in the seasoning industry, according to the town government.

The 267 seasoning processing enterprises in the town not only produce seasoning products that share 40 percent of the total market in China, but sell to the overseas markets including European and Southeast Asian countries.

The seasoning production and related industries have achieved an annual output value of 22 billion yuan ($ 3.1 billion).

The local government played a pivotal role in the development of the industry, which has built a seasoning industrial park to foster collaboration and expansion. The Yang'an Seasoning Industry Group was also established with 56 seasoning enterprises.

Since building the first facilities in the park in 2021, Shandong Huachang Food Co Ltd has developed from a team of fewer than 10 employees to a specialized company with 200 people.

Yang Lifang, the company's chairman, attributes their success to the support of the government which has provided them with a well-established industrial ecosystem and comprehensive facilities.

"Our annual sales have been growing by 30 percent during the past years, and we expect to exceed 200 million yuan in sales this year," said Yang.

The increasing demand for raw materials by the thriving seasoning industry has also promoted the planting sector, such as chilli and anise, bringing more income to local farmers, said Yang Bo, an official of Yang'an town.

He Hong contributed to the story