Linhai, a county-level city in Taizhou, is nationally renowned for its tangerines.

The planting of seedless tangerine, a renowned variety of tangerine from Linhai, dates back more than 1,800 years.

Presently, the city's annual output of tangerines has exceeded 300,000 metric tons, or 1 billion yuan ($153.8 million) in value, according to official data.

The fruit is sold after it is sorted based on factors such as sweetness, acidity and size.

Linhai has introduced four fruit sorting machines, with another six expected to be put in operation this year. These new machines will increase the annual output value of the fruit by 2 million yuan.

In addition, the local government has expanded sales channels by leveraging e-commerce platforms. 

The success achieved by tangerine farmers has since drawn numerous young people who used to work outside the city to get involved in this industry.

Meanwhile, sustained efforts have been made to improve the packaging for online orders to  reduce the attrition rate during the transportation.

The foam express packaging adopted by Linhai is highly resistant to pressure and shock, according to Qiu Jiachang, deputy head of the standing committee of the Yongquan town e-commerce association.

Air holes and backflow grooves have also been incorporated into the packaging as tangerines require relatively high oxygen content, said Qiu.