Southwest China's Guizhou province will promote intelligent vegetable bases in high-altitude areas by using big data and artificial intelligence (AI), the Provincial Department of Science and Technology said.

5G, drones and multi-spectral imaging will replace human labor in inspection and crop growth monitoring. AI interpretation systems can manage fields through sensors that automatically record soil moisture and meteorological conditions.

Meanwhile, machines will be applied from land preparation, fertilization, irrigation, cultivation and harvesting in the farms.

The pilot project will be first launched in vegetable bases covering 333 hectares in Weining Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County at an average altitude of more than 2,200 meters.

In the future, the technologies will be applied in all vegetable bases of Weining, which cover a total area of 26,666 hectares.

With a favorable climate, Weining positions itself as a winter vegetable supply base. Vegetables including cabbages and white carrots are sold to big Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and some are exported to foreign countries.