UW Jackson School graduate Joanne Ho wrote her senior honors thesis on why commercial apple agriculture, which was introduced all over Yanyuan county in the late 1980s, succeeded in some areas but not in Yangjuan. Yanyuan farmers grow many desirable varieties of apples, such as Jinshuai (shown here) and the excellent Red Fuji.

Here, with the help of Professor Li Xingxing (right) and Ms. Luo Liangzhao of the Sichuan Nationlities Research institute in Chengdu, Joanne (far left) interviews a village head in Weicheng township, a part of Yanyuan county where many apple farmers have found success. Her preliminary results indicate that farmers in Weicheng have succeeded because of better transportation and better access to technical and market information

Joanne Ho's honors thesis in the Jackson School of International Studies, entitled Pockets of Poverty in a Fast-Growing Economy won the University of Washington Libraries Research Award for Undergraduates in 2004.