Cottoning on to tech

While ensuring the payment to be received promptly and in full, he is making plans to steadily increase income in the coming year, and his love for cotton has never waned.

"In the past few years, cotton has given me considerable income. All thanks to cotton, my son bought a new house and my daughter has a new car. Nothing is more real than a steady prosperous life," he says.

The cotton industry in Xinjiang has become one of the most important ways for the local people to increase their income. "It is the pure white cotton that allows us to live a good life. We grow cotton by working hard and exchange our sweat for happiness. If it weren't for growing cotton, I might still be herding sheep somewhere. Now I live a good life."