Expert on cotton breeding enjoys his work

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Zhao Guozhong drives to check cotton plants in the field at Nanfan breeding base in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Feb. 28, 2021. Zhao Guozhong, who has spent 43 Spring Festivals at Nanfan breeding base as an expert on cotton breeding, started every morning of his days in Sanya by dashing to the field to pollinate cotton plants and to observe their growth under the scorching sun. To speed up the cotton breeding process, Zhao travels back and forth between Hainan and Hebei Province in north China, where in October he harvests cotton specimen in Hebei and bring them to Hainan for breeding; and in April the next year he carries the new seedlings back to Hebei for planting. The past 43 years witnessed Zhao's success in cultivating more than 20 new high-yield cotton varieties. Zhao, already 71, still treats cotton plants in the field as his own children, as he carefully records every bit of change in them. "Don't ask me whether it's tedious. I really enjoy this, and I cannot get enough of it," Zhao said. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)