Plates of potatoes cultivated by Inner Mongolia Xisen Potato Industry Co. (Photo: China Daily)

Yang Hongjuan, 34, a farmer in Lamaban village in Shangdu county, by Ulaanqab city, is an example of those who benefit from the local potato industry.

Yang and her husband used to do part-time jobs to make ends meet for her family of five. But despite all their best efforts, the income was never enough, dragging them into deeper financial difficulty.

Last year, with the help of the local government and businesses, Yang learned potato cultivation skills and found great success. So much so their annual net income from growing the humble spud reached 62,000 yuan ($8,857) last year.

That same year, Yang was awarded the title "star of entrepreneurship" for lifting herself and her family out of poverty by planting potatoes.

Yang Hongjuan and Huang Zhaowen, general manager of the cultivation center of Inner Mongolia Xisen Potato Industry Co, check growth of potatoes in a greenhouse in Ulaanqab. (Photo: China Daily)

The potato industry in Ulaanqab, dubbed the "potato city" of China, has become one of the main industries helping to increase local residents' incomes and lift farmers out of poverty, according to local officials in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Located in the center of Inner Mongolia, Ulaanqab is an important national production hub for potatoes, commercial potatoes and special potatoes for processing.

Seventy percent of potatoes sold in the Beijing market come from Ulaanqab.