Farmers really dig potatoes in Gansu

When the summer solstice brings the longest day to Gansu, Dingxi city's potato farmers get to work in the fields to make the most of the perfect conditions.

Dingxi city is often referred to as the "city of potatoes" due to many farms that grow the tuberous vegetable. One third of its entire production area is dedicated to potato farming, producing 760 million potatoes every year, weighing in at 5 million tons in total.

Farmers dig up weeds on potato farms in Fengxiang county, Dingxi city, Gansu, on June 21. [Photo/Xinhua]

More about summer solstice

The summer solstice occurs when a hemisphere’s axis is most inclined towards the sun. It usually occurs between June 20 and June 22 in the northern hemisphere, falling on June 21 this year.

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. The summer solstice, or xiazhi, means the arrival of the summer in Chinese and is the 10th solar term of the year, which ends around July 5.

Dingxi is Gansu provinces "land of potatoes". [Photo/Xinhua]

Edited by Owen Fishwick