For world chestnuts, look to China, for Chinese chestnuts, look to Yanshan, and for Yanshan chestnuts, look to Qinglong.
In northern China, autumn is the season of harvest and delicious food. Among these delicacies, there is one ingredient that is deeply loved by people for its unique flavor and rich nutrition, and that is our protagonist chestnut.
Qinglong Chestnut - Jingdong Chestnut's representative product, has an independent trademark registration, named "Qinglong Ganli". As early as around 2000, working people in the Yanshan Mountains of Jingdong and at the foot of the Great Wall had begun to grow chestnuts. Chestnut is called "ginseng fruit" and is famous abroad for its rich mineral content.
Qinglong chestnut is a specialty product of Hebei Province in China and is also a national geographical indication product of China. As one of the people's favorite dried fruits, chestnuts are known as the “King of Dried Fruits”. China is the origin of chestnuts. Chestnut trees have been planted in Qianxi, Xinglong, and other areas of Hebei Province for more than 500 years. The chestnuts produced are large, thin-skinned, with fine texture and a unique flavor of fragrant, sweet, and glutinous. They are called "Yanshan sweet chestnuts" or "Jingdong chestnuts", specifically referring to chestnuts produced in the Yanshan Mountains east of Beijing. It has a bright color, high sugar content, sweet aroma, and rich nutrition, and is very prestigious in domestic and foreign markets. In addition to being delicious, it has high nutritional value and is rich in protein, fat, starch, sugar, and multiple vitamins.
The history and culture of Qinglong chestnut
Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County is a place rich in high-quality chestnuts, which is inseparable from its geographical environment. Qinglong County is located in a mountainous area and was once known as "eight mountains, one water, and one farmland". Qinglong chestnut is the representative product of "Jingdong chestnut" and is produced in Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, China. Jingdong chestnut has a long history.
As early as the Western Han Dynasty, Sima Qian clearly recorded it in the article "Biography of Huo Shi" in "Historical Records": "Yan, Qin Qianshu chestnut,...the Jingdong chestnuts are all the same as Qianhu Hou." Historical materials also record that in the "Biography of Su Qin": "There are Jieshi Yanmen in the south, and there are jujubes in the north. Although the people do not work carefully, they are content with jujubes. This is the so-called Tianfu."
In addition, Lu Ji during the Western Jin Dynasty also mentioned in his commentary for the Book of Songs: "Chestnuts are found in all five directions, but those born in Yuyang and Fanyang are sweet and delicious, and they are not as good as those in other places." It can be seen from this that the Yanshan Mountains in Jingdong and The working people at the foot of the Great Wall began to cultivate chestnuts as early as 2000.
Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County is a chestnut-producing area with a suitable climate, fertile land, high mountains and dense forests, clear water, and a beautiful environment. The unique growth conditions of chestnuts promote the accumulation of nutrients and improve the quality of chestnuts. Local farmers have rich experience in chestnut cultivation and use biological control, manual weeding, goose raising, and other ecological recycling models to manage chestnuts so that each chestnut is mature and maintains the best quality. The main cultivated varieties include Yanshan Zaofeng, Yankui, Huaijiu, Dabanhong, and other local preferred varieties. Qinglong chestnut is known as the top chestnut product of Jingdong because of its regular fruit shape, uniform fruit grains, bright color, high sugar content, delicate meat, soft and sweet taste, and astringent skin that is easy to peel off.
The chestnut planting area in Qinglong County is 1 million acres, with an annual output of 40,000 tons and an annual output value of more than 500 million yuan. In 2010, it was designated as an "Export Chestnut Quality and Safety Demonstration County" by the Hebei Provincial Import and Export Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. Qinglong chestnut not only occupies a large market share in China, but is also favored by consumers in Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and other countries and regions, and is exported all year round.‘’
