Yanhe Tujia autonomous county, a rural area of Southwest China's Guizhou province, is putting all of its eggs, or rather all of its plums, in one basket in its fight against poverty.

The county is hoping that a local breed of plum—the kongxin plum—will be the key to unlocking the doors to prosperity for its residents.

The kongxin, or hollow plum, so named because of its distinctive gap between the flesh and the core of the fruit, has become popular in China due to its good taste. It has even been recognized as a "national geographical indication protection product" by the Chinese government in 2006.

Yanhe held its first plum picking festival on July 12, and local officials marked the occasion by announcing ambitious new targets for plum production.

People pick kongxin plums at the first plum picking festival in Shazi town, Yanhe Tujia autonomous county in Guizhou province on July 12. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The county plans to plant 100,000 mu (667 hectares) of its famous kongxin plum trees by 2020, which is expected to generate 170 million yuan ($25 million) per year, an official said at the festival's opening ceremony.

Shazi town, in the east of Yanhe, is one place where cultivating the kongxin plum has already borne fruit for local residents.

People in Shazi have been growing plums since 1858, and the fruit is now the main source of income for nearly every household in the town.

The plum planting area in Shazi exceeds 28,000 mu, which produces an annual yield of more than 800 tons and generates 20 million yuan in revenue, according to Qiao Qiao, an official from the town government.