A villager sorts dried red peppers at a market in Zunyi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Aug. 11, 2018. The pepper industry in Zunyi has become an effective way for local people to shake off poverty. (Xinhua/Luo Xinghan)

Int'l chili expo will be held in mid-August in China's Guizhou which has a pepper acreage of about 333,333 hectares, a tenth of the world's total.

GUIYANG, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The city of Zunyi in southwest China's Guizhou Province is expecting fiery heat from Aug. 17 to 18 when it holds the 2019 Zunyi International Capsicum Expo.

Eating hot peppers dates back to more than 400 years ago in Guizhou, which has a pepper acreage of 5 million mu (about 333,333 hectares), a tenth of the world's total.

This year's expo will focus on promoting a variety of industry topics, such as planting base construction, intensive processing, market and brand building, as well as agritourism, according to a press conference held on Monday.

Breeding institutes and distribution businesses from home and abroad are expected to bring new hot pepper varieties for tests and exhibition, providing local pepper farmers with more choices suitable for planting.

Guizhou plans to build 1,333 chili planting bases by the end of the year, with an estimated yield of 6 million tonnes and a turnover of more than 70 billion yuan (about 9.96 billion U.S. dollars), increasing the income of 320,000 poverty-stricken locals.

Pepper acreage in the province will stand at above 5 million mu by 2021, with a 6.5-million-tonne annual yield and a turnover of more than 80 billion yuan.