On a winter morning, a refrigerated truck loaded with 28 tonnes of Yunnan-grown Wogan oranges sets off from the Liangya Fruits (Fruits from South and Southeast Asia) · Yunguo E-commerce Industrial Park in the Fangwang area of Guandu District, Kunming, bound for Thailand.
Just a few years ago, this land was piled high with silent stacks of steel. Today, the air is filled with the sweet aromas of Yunnan Wogan oranges, strawberries and blueberries, alongside Chilean cherries and Thai durians.
The site was once the long-idle "Iron Rooster"steel logistics hub. As the city expanded and markets relocated, the area fell quiet, left with little more than empty warehouses and weathered railway tracks. The turning point came with the extension of major international transport corridors: the opening of the China–Laos Railway, upgrades to the Kunming–Bangkok Highway, and Kunming's administrative management of Mohan, together lighting up a “golden corridor” for fruit trade.
Liangya Fruits · Yunguo E-commerce Industrial Park. Photo by Guo Wuhui.
Kunming Hongrun Market Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Kunming Jinma Zhengchang Trading Co., drew on its years of experience operating Yunnan's largest fruit wholesale market to seize the opportunity and propose the development of a tropical fruit e-commerce and logistics park serving South and Southeast Asia.
jrhz.info"In 2024, the Jinma Zhengchang Fruit Market recorded a trading volume of 1.5 million tonnes and a turnover of 9 billion yuan, and it is a designated market recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,"said a project representative. The newly built Liangya Fruits · Yunguo E-commerce Industrial Park is designed to complement the traditional market, with a focus on livestream e-commerce, brand development and cross-border trade.
The park's design features 10 specialized buildings for live-streaming e-commerce and fruit sorting, one fruit grading workshop, and one premium fruit exhibition hall. On the southern side, a designated zone hosts 152 livestreaming studios and 20 shared brand display spaces. The largest existing inspection warehouse has been renovated and expanded into a modern grading workshop equipped with state-of-the-art automated sorting lines. To the north, a triangular plot has been transformed into a brand incubation center, dedicated to nurturing and launching renowned fruit brands.
Stepping into the park, one is greeted by a bustling scene. Trucks arrive and depart continuously, while workers swiftly sort, package and crate the Wogan oranges.
"These Wogan oranges from Yuxi are set to be shipped to Thailand,"said Du Xiongkang, head of Yunnan Hongliyuan Agricultural Technology Co., gesturing toward the neatly stacked crates behind him. "We used to focus solely on traditional wholesale, but now we diversify across channels—e-commerce, supermarkets, and cross-border trade. The facilities here are modern and well-designed, and its proximity to the market combined with excellent transportation links makes it an ideal base for premium fruit and expansion into Southeast Asia."Before he could finish speaking, he was already hurrying off to coordinate the next shipment. Nearly 50 merchants like Du share his optimism. Though still in trial operation, enthusiasm is palpable.
Leveraging Yunnan's established advantages in fruit trading and emerging cross-border logistics networks, the park aims to become a modern industrial hub combining live-streaming e-commerce, brand incubation, smart sorting technology, and cross-border trade. While high-quality fruits from Southeast Asia can now reach Chinese homes faster and fresher, Yunnan's premium produce is also finding wider global markets.
According to the market operator's vision, the site is not merely a new wholesale market—it is designed to be a platform for industrial upgrading, enabling high-quality fruit to achieve higher prices and streamlining distribution processes.
As the truck disappears into the distance, sunlight floods the park's newly built roads. With more businesses moving in and transport links continuing to improve, the site is set to become a key node for the efficient circulation of premium fruits at home and abroad, supporting Kunming's ambition to become a national fruit distribution hub.
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(Editors: Rachel, Jennifer)
