Rice with a high tolerance to water salinity have been successfully grown in Qingdao in Shandong Province, according to a Xinhua report published on Wednesday.

Researchers harvest a test crop of the new strain of seawater rice in Qingdao on Thursday, September 28, 2017. [File Photo: thepaper.cn]

In May, the seawater rice research center in Qingdao planted trial fields of the new rice strain in Qingdao and five other sites around the country.

The trial field in Qingdao used to be a saline-alkaline wasteland. But thanks to the development of the new salt-resistant rice strain, scientists have been able to turn it into productive farmland.