From Century-Old Sweet Fragrance to Modern Industrial Symphony: Neijiang City, Shizhong District Writes New Chapter in Old Industrial Base Transformation

In Zizhong District, Neijiang City, the pulse of industry is strong and vibrant. Here, the century-old sweet aroma is being refined into a complete industrial chain economy through the unique “one white, one black, one red” agricultural products; in modern factories, world-leading energy equipment is being mass-produced. Traditional and modern elements complement each other, depicting a lively scene of an old industrial base transforming into an “industrial powerhouse.”

During the 14th Five-Year Plan, Zizhong District, guided by the industrial doubling plan, has made a solid leap from “simple sweetness” to “industrial powerhouse,” writing a high-quality chapter in the transformation and upgrading of old industrial bases.

Cluster Rise: From “Local Characteristics” to “Industrial Matrix”

Industrial transformation begins with rooted local specialties. Relying on the unique resources of white U fish, black pigs, and Sichuan red oranges—“one white, one black, one red”—and the traditional sugar industry heritage, Zizhong District is reshaping agricultural value with industrial thinking, promoting the food industry from “scattered farming” to “cluster development.”

White U fish (Photo by Neijiang City Zizhong District Media Center)

Today, the Sweet Food Industrial Park has over 50,000 square meters of standardized factory buildings, with six enterprises operating there, aiming for a production value of 243 million yuan by 2025. The Neijiang black pig has formed a full industry chain from breeding and preservation to processing and sales, with a total output value of 1.36 billion yuan. Leading companies like Tianfu Roasted and Marinated Meat have established roots in the park, spreading the flavor of “Sweet City” even further.

If the food industry is like a “young branch sprouting from an old tree,” the equipment and energy industry is the “new branch growing into a forest.” As a national demonstration zone for the transformation and upgrading of old industrial bases, Zizhong District precisely positions itself in key industrial sectors, consolidating and enhancing advantages such as the High-tech Peninsula Precision Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park, and building a diversified industrial matrix.

“East Forest Heavy Industry” workshop (Photo by Neijiang City Zizhong District Media Center)

Here, the world’s first internationally advanced circulating fluidized bed demonstration power plant unit has been built, and HuiXin Pharmaceuticals’ VD2 raw material medicine consistently ranks first globally in sales and production; a 5.5 billion yuan investment in the Neijiang Surface Treatment Base is accelerating construction, and once fully operational, it will drive upstream and downstream industries with an output value exceeding 100 billion yuan; Huadian Baima Energy Storage Power Station and Xi’an Yino Energy Storage Power Station have been successfully included in provincial new energy storage demonstration projects, injecting strong momentum into the green energy industry.

By 2025, the three main industries—equipment and energy, food and pharmaceuticals, and electronic information—are expected to achieve a total output value of 5.071 billion yuan, accounting for 88.2% of the total industrial scale, becoming the “ballast” of the industrial economy.

Enterprise Prosperity: From “Single Point Breakthrough” to “Ecosystem of Clusters”

A healthy industrial ecosystem requires both “leading enterprises” and “tiered coexistence.” Zizhong District implements a plan to cultivate small and micro enterprises and high-quality enterprises, building a growth system of “innovative small and medium-sized enterprises—specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative—leading enterprises,” allowing market vitality to flow freely.

A number of backbone enterprises have grown into industry benchmarks: HuiXin Pharmaceuticals, the world’s largest producer of vitamin D2 in terms of production and sales, continues to expand advantages through technological upgrades; Huadian Baima leads the green transformation of the energy industry through “digital power plant” construction; leading companies like China Grain Reserves Corporation and surface treatment bases attract supporting upstream and downstream enterprises, strengthening industry chain resilience.

Vitamin D3 production line at HuiXin Pharmaceuticals (Photo by Neijiang City Zizhong District Media Center)

A “tropical rainforest” scene of enterprises led by leading companies, with specialized, refined, innovative enterprises as the backbone, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises as the foundation, is gradually unfolding in Zizhong District.

Moving Toward the 15th Five-Year Plan: Reaffirming the “Industrial Powerhouse” and Starting a New Journey

Since the 14th Five-Year Plan, Zizhong District has established a mechanism for coordinated promotion of key industrial chains, laying out 13 key industrial chains including low-altitude economy and surface treatment. In terms of industrial support, infrastructure in the Neijiang Sweet Food Industrial Park continues to improve, and the pace of traditional industry transformation and upgrading accelerates. Thirteen high-quality projects, including the intelligent production line for vitamin D series products, have been included in the provincial “Smart Transformation and Digital Conversion” project library.

Statistics show that by 2025, there will be 76 large-scale industrial enterprises in the district, with a total industrial output value of about 5.75 billion yuan. This impressive achievement not only marks the successful conclusion of the 14th Five-Year Plan but also provides confidence for the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan. Standing at a new development starting point, Zizhong District will seize the momentum, increase efforts, and strive to add 38 more large-scale industrial enterprises by 2030, achieving a total industrial output value of over 15 billion yuan, steadily advancing toward the goal of becoming an “industrial powerhouse.”

Ecological Neijiang Black Pig Farming and Circular Industry Park (Photo by Neijiang City Zizhong District Media Center)

From a century-old sweet aroma to a modern industrial symphony, from single-point breakthroughs to cluster advancement, Zizhong District’s industrial practice vividly proves that the roots of traditional industries and the waves of modern industry can resonate together. The transformation of old industrial bases will only become broader and broader.

Looking toward the 15th Five-Year Plan, Zizhong District is accelerating the construction of a more resilient, dynamic, and competitive modern industrial system with innovation as its wings and practical effort as its foundation, turning the dream of an “industrial powerhouse” into reality on this fertile land.