By Yuling Chen, EDITOR

A man surnamed Huang, who comes to Chongqing from Taiwan, China, has rekindled the gleam of fireflies of Chongqing city in Southwest China.

Twenty-one years ago, due to missing the connecting flight, Mr. Huang got the chance to know Chongqing. Later, he met his current partner when promoting organic agriculture. The rapport between the like-minded partners sowed the seed of “hope” for this Firefly Valley Farm right here.

Having over 40 years of experience in agriculture, Mr. Huang has got great attainments in agriculture since he was little. He told us that he wanted to make the rest of his life worth living. Fortunately, the mountains, waters, and people in Chongqing make him stay.

Firefly Valley Cafe

A firefly has high requirements for ecological environment, making it an indicator of a good ecological environment. Therefore, the most difficult thing is not to breed fireflies, but to create a suitable “home” to them. Thankfully, the soil here has been in the period of returning farmland to the forest for 10 years. After more than half a year of land rehabilitation, and feeding the soil with milk and digging rivers for the valley, the ecological environment here has became very suitable for fireflies. Moreover, Mr. Huang also invited a doctoral student majoring in fireflies from National Taipei University and his team to help rehabilitate fireflies. They traveled between Chongqing and Taipei several times.

There are about 2,000 varieties of fireflies around the world and more than 150 in China. Mr. Huang and the team selected 12 varieties of fireflies suitable for local breeding from 200 to 600 varieties of fireflies. After half a year, they have successfully rehabilitated nine varieties. From zero to thousands of fireflies, Mr. Huang and his team took the lost fireflies one by one to the valley behind the Chongqing College Town. Then, we can enjoy the picture of firefly sky at the beginning of the article.

There are not only outdoor breeding grounds, but also firefly classrooms for popular science at Firefly Valley Farm. Through video explanation, specimen appreciation and the on-site visit of the living body, viewers can learn about the life of a firefly from its larva. The best visiting time is from April to July every year, and some varieties can be active till October.

“Bring back the good ecological environment and take fireflies home”. When Mr. Huang spoke of this again, I actually had an unspeakable sense of mission.

Inheritance and continuation are what nature teaches us, and it is our duty to continue passing on in the ways of nature.

Not only Mr. Huang has his own vegetable garden, but also the orchard in the valley. Probably next year, viewers will find tropical fruits such as guava, carambola, long-striped mulberry and dragon fruit that viewers could barely see in Chongqing before.

Experience in agriculture of more than 40 years has made Mr. Huang’s hands “golden fingers”. The saying, “you reap what you sow”, is perfect for Mr. Huang. The surrounding villages and towns often invite him to give lectures on agricultural science and technology, and he also opens free sharing courses at Firefly Valley Farm.

Source: CQCB