Abstract: Zhaotong is a poverty-stricken area in Yunnan Province. The rural area is the main battlefield for Zhaotong to fight against poverty. The apple industry is one of the main industries for the rural development of Zhaotong. This article analyzes the contribution of Zhaotong Apple Industry to Poverty Alleviation through literature collection, consulting national and local policy documents on industrial poverty alleviation and field investigation. The results shows that Zhaotong apple have the quality advantages which are exquisite pulp, intense flavour, bright-coloured colour and luster because of the unique geographical and climatic environment in Zhaotong. The apple has the characteristics of early, sweet, aroma, and crispy. The apple industry has helped 300 000 people becoming wealthy in Zhaotong. It has become a golden apple for fruit farmers to increase their income and become rich. This article elaborates the experience and practices of the municipal party committee and the municipal government in developing Zhaotong apple into the spire of the national apple and building it into a world-class green food brand to boost the fight against poverty. The typical case is cited that apple ’s flagship enterprises, co-operatives, and capable people driving radiation farmers to get rich through planting apples, which provides a replicable development model and development route for the apple production areas in the cool highlands of southwest China.