A salmon breeding base in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, thousands of miles inland from the nearest ocean, has been ramping up production with the arrival of spring.
As the temperature rises, breeders at the base in Nilka County have been separating juvenile fish. Newly hatched fish weighing over 10 grams after an incubation period of five months are carefully sorted according to size, placed in different cages, and fed exclusively nutritious meals, allocated according to the growth stage. This process is now fully automated.
The breeding base plans to release about 9.1 million juvenile fish this year into a mountainside lake in the county. These young salmon will grow into catchable adult fish in two and a half to three years.
On the water surface, several members of a fishing team work together to pull in huge fishing nets on a daily basis. Salmon that meet standards are pulled into pipes from the breeding cages by a fish suction pump, and then sent directly to the processing and packaging workshop with the flow of water.
From there, they are bound for the domestic and international market alike.
"Recently, we have received a lot of orders, about 7,000 to 8,000 fish per day," said a fishing team member of Xinjiang Tianyun Organic Farming Company.
Xinjiang has more than about 3 million hectares of water bodies suitable for aquaculture, with good-quality cold water resources formed by melting snow and ice in the mountains rich in dissolved oxygen, providing a congenial environment for the growth and reproduction of salmon.
Inland salmon breeding base nets success in Xinjiang
Inland salmon breeding base nets success in Xinjiang
A former television host from Taiwan, Zhai Xuan, has made a pivotal decision to leave mainstream broadcasting in order to create content that provides a better understanding of the Chinese mainland and cross-strait relations.
Zhai, a seasoned television host with over a decade of experience in Taiwan's media landscape, recently addressed an audience at an event in Beijing, where she revealed her complete transition into independent online media.
In her remarks, she articulated her aspiration to bridge what she perceives as a significant information gap between audiences on both sides of the Strait, highlighting her commitment to fostering a deeper understanding and connection through her new endeavors.
"I was really surprised by all the fake news. There were stories saying people on the mainland can't afford tea eggs or that they live in mud houses and in Taiwan, this was the main information many people received," said Zhai.
Zhai said she initially began producing online videos to challenge such perceptions while continuing her work as a television host.
In April 2025, she travelled to the mainland with her father to fulfill her late grandfather's wish to return to his hometown. The trip, which reunited family members separated since 1949, was recorded in a video series titled "Journey to Find Our Roots", drawing attention from viewers in both Taiwan and the mainland.
"Many people in Taiwan told me that after watching, they wanted to apply for a mainland travel permit immediately and go looking for their relatives. Some had long forgotten these things, but after seeing my story, they began thinking about their hometowns and family members they had never met and decided to search for their roots," Zhai shared her story at the event.
By mid-2025, Zhai said she began to feel increasing pressure amid rising political tensions and a tightening atmosphere around cross-Strait exchanges in Taiwan.
After more than 12 years in the industry, Zhai resigned from her position, believing it was the right thing to do.
"At that moment, I felt this was a major issue，not just for me, but for Chinese people on both sides of the Strait. If I backed down then, I wouldn’t be standing on the right side," said Zhai.
Since leaving television, Zhai has broadened her online programming to encompass a range of daily-life topics, including practical guidance on applying for a mainland travel permit and using commonly employed mobile applications, in addition to content that delves into historical memory and cultural connections across the Strait.
As the debate over cross-Strait relations continues in Taiwan, Zhai said she remains committed to her current path.
Former Taiwan TV host bridges cross-Strait divide via online media
