The memorial hall for Feng Zefang in Yiwu, Zhejiang province [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Feng Zefang (1899-1959), hailed as the "Father of Chinese Cotton", is a name that always comes up when people are discussing China's cotton industry.

Born in 1899 in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang province, Feng dedicated his life to the research and development of cotton-growing technologies.

With a degree in agricultural science, he made bold attempts to hybridize a cotton variety in America with one in Asia. The results of his experiments laid a solid foundation for future research and application.

In 1938, Feng was dispatched to Southwest China's Yunnan province, where he discovered a high-quality long-staple cotton. He promoted the cotton among farmers and buyers and within just a few years, plantations for this type of cotton in Yunnan grew to more than 4,500 hectares. The industry brought wealth to local farmers and improved their livelihoods.

Another major contribution that Feng made to China's cotton industry was the division of the country's cotton-growing areas. In the 1930s, he began surveying areas where cotton was planted and gained a thorough understanding of geographical conditions and cotton quality.

After numerous field surveys and careful analysis, he divided these areas into five categories and offered practical advice on the development of cotton planting and processing in different areas.