In September 2024, the 36th issue of "Going to the World" magazine in 2024 published a manuscript of "Pomegranate Red Everywhere in Yicheng", reporting on the experience and practices of extending the pomegranate industry chain in our region and diversifying to promote the high-quality development of the pomegranate industry.
Yicheng is full of garnet red
Yicheng Decorated with Red Pomegranates
Text/Tang Jinyang
"My family has more than 10 acres of pomegranate orchards, each acre of land can produce two or three thousand catties of pomegranates, the annual income of fresh fruit sales is more than 100,000 yuan, plus the operation of native shops, pomegranate bonsai garden, the annual income can reach 400,000 yuan." Liu Yuan, a post-85 new farmer in Zhu Village, Durian Town, Yicheng District, Zaozhuang City, shuttled through the orchard, busy taking care of the pomegranate trees. In recent years, Yicheng District of Zaozhuang City has continuously extended the pomegranate industry chain, squeezing the juice of pomegranate fruits, making tea with pomegranate leaves, and landscaping with pomegranate trees, so that small pomegranates have produced a big industry.
Yicheng has a long history of planting pomegranates, and is the famous "hometown of Chinese pomegranates", and the local story of Kuang Heng, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, introducing the pomegranates of Shanglinyuan into his hometown for cultivation. After more than 2,000 years of development, this small city has become one of the pomegranate producing areas with the largest concentrated and contiguous planting area, the most varieties and the most complete industrial chain in China, as well as the largest distribution center for pomegranate fresh fruits, pomegranate seedlings and bonsai bonsai in China.
The pomegranate germplasm resource bank of Guanshi Pomegranate Garden has preserved 473 pomegranate germplasms from all over the world, which is the first in China and the forefront in the world. Photo/Sun Hui
The pomegranate red reflects the well-off life
Every golden autumn, walking into the Guanshi pomegranate orchard, the pomegranate trees are shady, and the pomegranates are shining in the sun, and the fruit farmers shuttle back and forth between the trees, holding scissors to pick the harvest fruits. When the farm is not working, pomegranate growers will also gather to select the largest pomegranate planted that year in the Guanshi pomegranate orchard, and be named the "pomegranate king", and give trophies and medals. The village party secretary who came to the stage to accept the award on behalf of the fruit farmers will look red this year.
"Although the bonsai is small, it condenses the pomegranate culture of the entire Yicheng. Nowadays, the living standards of ordinary people are getting higher and higher, and pomegranate bonsai is becoming more and more popular with the public. Zhang Zhongtao, a practitioner in the pomegranate bonsai industry, said.
Zhang Zhongtao was a laid-off worker, in 2012, he set up his own seedling bonsai professional cooperative, has developed to more than 50 acres of land, more than 40 potted varieties, annual sales of more than 200 yuan. In 2013, Yicheng pomegranate bonsai planting technology was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage protection of Shandong Province, and has now become an important part of the pomegranate industry. At present, the total number of bonsai and potted plants in Yicheng is more than 300,000 pots, and there are more than 3,000 people engaged in the pomegranate bonsai industry, and the total output value of bonsai and bonsai in the garden is expected to be 500 million yuan.
"I have been growing pomegranates here for more than 30 years, and the business is booming year by year, and this year's 'Qiu Yan' has been sold out before it is listed, and more than 5,000 seedlings have been sold." Talking about this year's sales, fruit farmer Li Zhibao was so happy that he couldn't keep his mouth shut, "Now that the government is vigorously developing the pomegranate industry, many tourists come to the garden every year to pick and sightsee, and the excess fruit is sold to the surrounding pomegranate processing factories, which is equivalent to double insurance." ”
Li Zhibao's real "insurance" is actually the industrial development strategy of Yicheng District, which extends to the front end to drive farmers to build raw material bases, extends to the back end to build a logistics marketing and service network, encourages and supports the research and development and production of high-end pomegranate drinks, medicines, cosmetics, health care products and other new products, forming a complete industrial chain, and the pomegranate industry has become an important support for local people to get rid of poverty and become rich.
Yicheng District promotes the deep processing and transformation of pomegranates and extends the pomegranate industry chain. Photo/Sun Hui
In the production workshop of Wanglaoji Health Industrial Park, the mediocre pomegranate juice has been turned into more than 10 varieties of pomegranate products such as pomegranate lime drink and pomegranate herbal tea after 26 production procedures. There are also many processing enterprises such as pomegranate wine and pomegranate tea in the local area. At present, there are more than 70 pomegranate deep processing and sales related enterprises in Zaozhuang City, with more than 20 kinds of pomegranate products such as pomegranate juice, pomegranate wine, and pomegranate tea. Yicheng District has excellent pomegranate deep processing, continued to deepen cooperation with leading enterprises at home and abroad such as Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group and Korea CheongKwanzhuang, accelerated the research and development and manufacturing of pomegranate health products, pomegranate medicines, pomegranate cosmetics and other products, newly launched new products such as pomegranate ginseng tea, pomegranate ejiao enzyme, pomegranate sparkling water, pomegranate pancakes, pomegranate noodles, and is developing pomegranate bird's nest, pomegranate fish gelatin, pomegranate seed oil, pomegranate tea and other products.
The pomegranate is red, reflecting the landscape of the pomegranate township
For those who come to Yicheng for the first time, the deepest impression must be the fragrance of durian in the wind. Writer Wang Jianbing wrote that during the pomegranate blossom season, Yicheng "even the wind is red, and the ground is blowing all over the ground below." As a cultural symbol of Yicheng, pomegranate is one of the main features that attract tourists here.
"When the pomegranate blossoms bloom and the pomegranates are ripe, you can see beautiful scenery everywhere. I especially like a sentence from Yicheng: Come early and become early, and 'Yi' will come and succeed. In front of the Qingtan Temple of Guanshi Durian Garden, Zhang Yingyue, a tourist from Gansu, said. Zhang Qingchun, director of the Yicheng District Culture and Tourism Bureau, said: "We want to make the Guanshi Durian Garden a poetry in the hearts of outsiders and a distant place at the doorstep of locals. ”
In recent years, relying on the advantages of cultural and tourism resources, Yicheng District has vigorously developed rural tourism and homestay industries, and has embarked on a characteristic road of rural revitalization in the integration of agriculture, culture and tourism. The local people "revolve around pomegranates": some are engaged in the production of bonsai and potted plants, some process pomegranate tea and pomegranate honey, and some develop farmhouses...... Between the green waters and green mountains, the rural tourism in Yicheng District presents a prosperous scene.
The red and gorgeous pomegranate fruits represent the yearning of the people of Yicheng for a happy life. Photo/Provided by the Propaganda Department of the Zaozhuang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China
The fiery red pomegranates hang from the branches, and the crystal clear pomegranate seeds are full of juice, attracting many tourists to pick pomegranates and take pictures. "I drove here from Weishan County, and there are a lot of tourists in the Guanshi Durian Garden this year." Ms. Li, a tourist, said, "The children had a great time getting close to nature, feeling life, and experiencing the fun of picking." "There are more tourists, and the pastoral restaurant in the Guanshi Durian Garden has also become lively." There is a constant stream of tourists, and many customers order food by phone early. "The staff at the Pastoral Restaurant were very busy.
Focusing on the creation of "Slow City", Yicheng District has optimized and compiled three high-quality tour routes: "Wandering in the Slow Tour of the Radiant Field", "Inheriting the Red Spirit Research Tour" and "Seeking the Mystery of Intangible Cultural Heritage Skills and Tasting Cultural Charm", which connect the scenic spots such as Qingtan Temple, Wanfu Garden, and China Pomegranate Culture Expo Park, highlighting the unique charm of Yicheng's tourism resources.
In recent years, Yicheng District has coordinated and promoted the construction of provincial-level all-for-one tourism demonstration zones, provincial-level homestay clusters and "Tian Slow City", through the expansion of tourism formats, the elongation of the industrial chain, to maximize the satisfaction of tourists' diversified tourism needs, to expand and strengthen the economic and social benefits of the tourism industry, to truly attract tourists and revitalize the economy, and to promote the high-quality development of the tourism industry. Yicheng District has been awarded national honorary titles such as "China's Best Cultural and Ecological Tourism City", "China's Most Beautiful Rural Leisure Tourism Destination", "China's Most Beautiful Green Leisure Tourism Destination" and "China's Most Beautiful Rural Tourism Destination". Seven villages, including Beilongtang Village, Jiaquan Village, Niangniang Village, Qilidian Village, Caozhuang Village, Wulin Street, Chengzhuang Village, Gushao Town, and Xiewu Village, Yinping Town, were rated as provincial-level scenic villages, realizing the transformation and upgrading of beautiful villages to scenic villages. Wangfushan Village and Jiaquan Village in Duyuan Town were selected as key villages for rural tourism in the province.
"If you want to say the biggest change over the years, it's that there is no place to play anymore." When it comes to the growth of tourism resources, Zhang Qiang, a native of Yicheng, has a lot of feelings, "Now Yicheng is really a village and a scene, whether it is a scenic spot or an ordinary village, the environment and tourism experience are much better than before." ”
The pomegranate red reflects the cultural roots
Almost every visitor who comes to Guanshi Durian Garden will learn about this poem by Mr. He Jingzhi: "The spark of the prairie seems to reappear, and suddenly the Milky Way is pouring into the blue sky." "This is written about pomegranates, of course. In traditional Chinese culture, pomegranates have been regarded as treasures and mascots since ancient times, and have been sung by literati and artists.
In the Guanshi pomegranate garden, huge pomegranates fall all over the branches. Photo/Yang Min
As one of the oldest pomegranate producing areas in China, Yicheng pomegranate culture has a long history, during which there are salaries, companionship, transformation, rebirth, and hope. All this has given birth to this fertile cultural soil that generations of Yicheng people have relied on to survive and obtain nourishment.
How can cultural connotations be integrated into the experience of tourists? Yicheng District deeply excavated the cultural connotation of Guanshi Durian Garden, organized and held activities such as "Keeping in mind the entrustment · gathering strength to forge ahead" New Year's couplet, "Poetry and Durian Fragrance · the Great Beauty of Yicheng" poetry creation and other activities, creating a brand of cultural activities benefiting the people of the "Yellow River Grand Collection· Fulin Yicheng", relying on the intangible cultural heritage workshop to carry out a series of intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and performances such as the Yellow River Grand Collection· the Intangible Cultural Heritage New Year's Goods Festival, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Skills Exhibition Experience, the Qingming Festival Qingtan Temple Fair, and the "May Day Qingtan Temple Fair is Back", and launched the pomegranate cultural and creative "offline collection" to drive the popularity of Yicheng to heat up. Culture is alive, good things are on fire, and the scope of pomegranate cultural connotation is constantly expanding.
Yicheng District has cultivated and expanded the cultural and creative industry cluster of "Shandong Handmade· Ingenuity Durian Township", developed the image of "Pomegranate Xiaobao" and "Pomegranate Xiaobei" and a number of pomegranate-themed popular cultural and creative products such as the theme refrigerator magnet of Guanshi Pomegranate Garden, the pomegranate theme bookmark of "Chunhua Autumn Fruit", the "Pomegranate Blossom" ceramic cup, and the "Pomegranate Red Like Fire" straw lighting, which have effectively expanded the pomegranate cultural and creative market. At the same time, through the construction of a number of high-quality projects for the integration of agriculture, sports, culture and tourism, such as the Yunshen Flying Town and the Shuimushi Pastoral Complex, and the holding of festivals such as the "Happy Season of Guanshi Durian Garden", "Jujube Meets and Durian Love", music festivals, and the finals of Shandong Hemei Rural Basketball Tournament (Village BA) Lunan Division into Guanshi Durian Garden, Yicheng District continues to promote the in-depth integration and high-quality development of cultural tourism. Yicheng District has also integrated pomegranate culture into the delicacy, and created a pomegranate feast with unique regional characteristics such as "pomegranate ginseng place", "pomegranate heart" and "pomegranate brilliance", so that tourists can linger and forget to return. "Nowadays, many tourists choose to travel not only to enjoy the landscape, but also to perceive and identify with the culture is becoming more and more important. High-quality tourism activities need to design in-depth experience projects according to their own characteristics to enhance tourists' experience and cognition. Chang Liang, the head of a local cultural communication company, said.
Today's Guanshi Pomegranate Garden is not only an important pomegranate fruit production base in China, but also endowed with more cultural connotations, and has been built into an ecological and cultural tourism area integrating natural scenery, cultural history and sightseeing. "The pomegranate branches are graceful and durian, and the pomegranate film is light and bright, and the pomegranate is fresh." Every year in September, when the pomegranates are ripe, the Guanshi pomegranate orchard attracts visitors from all over the world. The abundant fruits in the pomegranate orchard paint a bright color on the picture scroll of local development and revitalization.