Xianju waxes eloquent about its famous berry
Xianju waxberry
It's waxberry season again and Xianju County in neighboring Zhejiang Province is luring Shanghai residents and tourists to experience its waxberry festival and taste its big, succulent and sweet variety of the fruit.
The monthlong festival, running through mid-July, features diverse waxberry-related activities, including shutterbug competition, calligraphy exhibition, cooking competition, performances, games, food bazaar, waxberry wine-tasting and intangible cultural heritage display, the county government announced during a promotion event in Shanghai on Tuesday.
Fruit-picking events, cultural activities and waxberry and countryside tours in Xianju will also be organized.
"The festival will not only display Xianju's waxberry, but also its charming landscape and profound culture. It is a platform that bridges Xianju with people elsewhere," said Yan Hairong, deputy Party secretary of Xianju.
Xianju, which in Chinese means "place where the immortals reside," is reputed as "China's waxberry hometown" and the history of waxberry planting in Xianju dates back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). The county has nearly 20,000 waxberry trees which are more than 100 years old.
Waxberries grown in Xianju are big, juicy and have a reddish purple color and a sweet flavor. Some are even bigger than a table tennis ball. They usually ripen in early June.
The abundant rainfall and sunshine in Xianju, plus the big temperature difference between day and night, provide favorable conditions for the growth of waxberries.
The waxberry-growing area in Xianju totals 138,000 mu (9,246 hectares) of land, and it is home to 25 waxberry sightseeing orchids, 25 waxberry model zones and 65 green standard model bases of the fruit.
The yield of the Xianju waxberry reached 90,000 tons last year, generating an output value of 667 million yuan (US$96.29 million).
In 2018, tourist attractions across Xianju recorded 1.69 million visits during the waxberry festival. In other seasons, its pitaya, blueberry, sunflower and lavender views also attract a large number of tourists.
The county boasts a variety of scenic spots such as Shenxianju, a 5A-level national tourist attraction surrounded by hills, serene creeks, raging waterfalls and meandering mountain roads, and Yong'an Creek famous for its clean, fresh water and rafting.
The forest coverage in Xianju has reached 79.6 percent and it is known as a "natural oxygen bar" and its name reflects the picturesque scenery and heavenly beauty of the county southwest of Shanghai.
