Beekeeper's 'magic' turns honey into sweet success story

"It's like a dream come true that I could someday attend classes and actually learn something in a university," Zheng says, who used to watch this kind of training program on television.

He now owns 500 beehives and 100 pots of cymbidium. His family moved out of their old mud house into a new brick one in 2016.

He raked in 200,000 yuan from selling 2 metric tons of honey in 2018. His business was hit by an unexpected flood last year, but he still managed to earn money by selling some of his beehives.

Now he has another mission, to help his fellow villagers. He has been working with the local poverty relief office for three years, offering guidance to other impoverished households on beekeeping.

Every day he rides two hours on his motorbike to give classes. Lecturing in the morning and working in the field in the afternoon with his "students" has become a routine.

He earns 400 yuan from one lesson but he says he is willing to impart his expertise to villagers whether he is paid or not.

Huang Qisheng, one of Zheng's students, has been learning beekeeping for almost four years. He cast off poverty over that period, and now owns more than 30 beehives.

"I want to keep learning with Zheng. Beekeeping is a lasting career for me now," Huang says.

The local government, in the meantime, is applying for a certification for the locally produced honey, hoping to boost the industry by improving production and establishing a sales platform.

Zheng expects to have 1,000 beehives this year. He himself has also set up a beekeeping cooperative and is persuading more villagers to join him.

If all goes well with the April nectar flow, Zheng will be collecting honey from honeycombs in May while expecting the second flow in early June.