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Peeling off to pick oranges in charming Chongming
By Fei Lai |
November 10, 2009, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHONGMING County's first Mandarin Orange Festival offers plump juicy fruit that visitors can pick - and the new tunnel-bridge expressway makes it easier than ever to get to the scenic islands. Fei Lai picks.
Any way you slice them, peel them, pop them in your mouth, or make tea with their rind, mandarin oranges from Chongming County are sweet, delicious and good for you.
The first Chongming Mandarin Orange Festival is underway through November 18 and visitors can pluck the bright orange fruit - all organically grown - with thin skin, lots of juice, fragrance and almost no seeds.
Orchards are open in the county's Luhua, Changxing and Hengsha towns.
The opening of the Changjiang Tunnel-Bridge Expressway, eliminating the need for ferries, makes it easy to pick oranges and enjoy the scenic islands.
Chongming County is one of the country's largest mandarin orange growing areas.
The plantation area in the county's three islands - Chongming, Changxing and Hengsha - covers 8,600 hectares and production is estimated to reach 170,000 tons this year.
The orange festival is part of the Chongming Forest Tourism Festival.
"Orange picking is fun and it's a namecard for Chongming's ecological and recreational tourism," says Mao Defei, section chief of the Chongming County Agricultural Commission.
Organic orange
"The opening of the tunnel-bridge makes rural tourism and orange picking a great attraction."
During the orange picking festival, Changxing Island hosts the Changxing Orange Industry Development Forum and Orange Trade Conference.
Hengsha Island hosts orange competitions of the best produce, a symposium on orange industry development, fishing and an adopt-an-orange-tree program.
Visitors can be farmers for a day or two, live in rural homes and work with the farmers. In Luhua Town, they can do some eco-shopping at an agricultural produce fair.
Through November 18, mandarin oranges from Hengsha Island are available in stalls in downtown Shanghai areas, including People's Park, Peace Park, Yangpu Park, Zhongshan Park, Minhang Sports Park and Fuxing Park.
Visitors can also drive to Chongming and tour orange-processing companies.
Oranges have been planted on Chongming's islands for more than 30 years.
Organic oranges at Luhua Town on Chongming are famous and the industry dominates the town. The fruit has been grown there for 20 years and quality has improved over the years.
A total 1,866 hectares are planted, yielding more than 80,000 tons a year, and increasing by around 10 percent each year. Gongchuan oranges are the main species grown, representing 95 percent of the harvest, which begins in mid-October.
Containing beneficial trace elements such as flavone and coumarin, they have been exported to Canada.
In traditional Chinese medicine, mandarin oranges are neutral in yin/yang energy. Known as citrus sinensus, the dried peel is used to regulate qi, improve digestion, reduce phlegm and treat other ailments.
"Orange growing is the dominant industry and farmersmake fortunes and improvetheir lives with the goldenfruit," says Mao from theagricultural commission.
The orange growing association, a non-governmental group, helps farmers in pricing, marketing and sales to make the Luhua oranges more competitive.
Another growing area is Changxing Island, also known for large and sweet fruit. Around 23 hectares are planted. The Guopin No. 3 Orange Picking Spot is a demonstration area for the best growing methods.
In Luhua Town, the picking charge is 4 yuan (US$59) per kilogram; on Changxing Island the charge is 1.3 yuan per kilogram and on Hengsha it's 2 yuan per kilogram.
It takes just around 90 minutes to drive from Pudong New Area, take the tunnel under the Yangtze River to Changxing Island and then take a cable bridge to Chongming.
"This will make it easy for city dwellers to embrace the fun of nature," says Mao. Where to pick Luhua Orchard
Date: through November 18, 8:30am-4pm
Admission: 20 yuan (including 5kg oranges, free clippers, basket and box)
Retail: 3 yuan/kg
Tel: 5935-2638
By bus: Take Nanniu Line in Chongming Island and get off at Xinjianshuizha Station.
By car: Changjiang Tunnel-Bridge°? Expressway-Chenhai Road-Sanhua Road-Xinjian Road-Luhua Mandarin Orange Science and Technology Demonstration Garden
Changxing Island Orchard
Date: through November 18, 8:30am-4pm
Admission: free
Retail: 1.3 yuan/kg, 4 yuan for a box of 5kg
Tel: 5685-5601
By car: The tunnel-Panyuan Road°?-No. 3 Fruit Picking Spot.
Hengsha Island Orchard
Date: through November 18, 8:30am-4:30pm
Retail price: 2 yuan/kg
Tel: 159-0178-5100
By car: The tunnel-Fuminsha Road-Dongjiang Road-orchard.
Any way you slice them, peel them, pop them in your mouth, or make tea with their rind, mandarin oranges from Chongming County are sweet, delicious and good for you.
The first Chongming Mandarin Orange Festival is underway through November 18 and visitors can pluck the bright orange fruit - all organically grown - with thin skin, lots of juice, fragrance and almost no seeds.
Orchards are open in the county's Luhua, Changxing and Hengsha towns.
The opening of the Changjiang Tunnel-Bridge Expressway, eliminating the need for ferries, makes it easy to pick oranges and enjoy the scenic islands.
Chongming County is one of the country's largest mandarin orange growing areas.
The plantation area in the county's three islands - Chongming, Changxing and Hengsha - covers 8,600 hectares and production is estimated to reach 170,000 tons this year.
The orange festival is part of the Chongming Forest Tourism Festival.
"Orange picking is fun and it's a namecard for Chongming's ecological and recreational tourism," says Mao Defei, section chief of the Chongming County Agricultural Commission.
Organic orange
"The opening of the tunnel-bridge makes rural tourism and orange picking a great attraction."
During the orange picking festival, Changxing Island hosts the Changxing Orange Industry Development Forum and Orange Trade Conference.
Hengsha Island hosts orange competitions of the best produce, a symposium on orange industry development, fishing and an adopt-an-orange-tree program.
Visitors can be farmers for a day or two, live in rural homes and work with the farmers. In Luhua Town, they can do some eco-shopping at an agricultural produce fair.
Through November 18, mandarin oranges from Hengsha Island are available in stalls in downtown Shanghai areas, including People's Park, Peace Park, Yangpu Park, Zhongshan Park, Minhang Sports Park and Fuxing Park.
Visitors can also drive to Chongming and tour orange-processing companies.
Oranges have been planted on Chongming's islands for more than 30 years.
Organic oranges at Luhua Town on Chongming are famous and the industry dominates the town. The fruit has been grown there for 20 years and quality has improved over the years.
A total 1,866 hectares are planted, yielding more than 80,000 tons a year, and increasing by around 10 percent each year. Gongchuan oranges are the main species grown, representing 95 percent of the harvest, which begins in mid-October.
Containing beneficial trace elements such as flavone and coumarin, they have been exported to Canada.
In traditional Chinese medicine, mandarin oranges are neutral in yin/yang energy. Known as citrus sinensus, the dried peel is used to regulate qi, improve digestion, reduce phlegm and treat other ailments.
"Orange growing is the dominant industry and farmersmake fortunes and improvetheir lives with the goldenfruit," says Mao from theagricultural commission.
The orange growing association, a non-governmental group, helps farmers in pricing, marketing and sales to make the Luhua oranges more competitive.
Another growing area is Changxing Island, also known for large and sweet fruit. Around 23 hectares are planted. The Guopin No. 3 Orange Picking Spot is a demonstration area for the best growing methods.
In Luhua Town, the picking charge is 4 yuan (US$59) per kilogram; on Changxing Island the charge is 1.3 yuan per kilogram and on Hengsha it's 2 yuan per kilogram.
It takes just around 90 minutes to drive from Pudong New Area, take the tunnel under the Yangtze River to Changxing Island and then take a cable bridge to Chongming.
"This will make it easy for city dwellers to embrace the fun of nature," says Mao. Where to pick Luhua Orchard
Date: through November 18, 8:30am-4pm
Admission: 20 yuan (including 5kg oranges, free clippers, basket and box)
Retail: 3 yuan/kg
Tel: 5935-2638
By bus: Take Nanniu Line in Chongming Island and get off at Xinjianshuizha Station.
By car: Changjiang Tunnel-Bridge°? Expressway-Chenhai Road-Sanhua Road-Xinjian Road-Luhua Mandarin Orange Science and Technology Demonstration Garden
Changxing Island Orchard
Date: through November 18, 8:30am-4pm
Admission: free
Retail: 1.3 yuan/kg, 4 yuan for a box of 5kg
Tel: 5685-5601
By car: The tunnel-Panyuan Road°?-No. 3 Fruit Picking Spot.
Hengsha Island Orchard
Date: through November 18, 8:30am-4:30pm
Retail price: 2 yuan/kg
Tel: 159-0178-5100
By car: The tunnel-Fuminsha Road-Dongjiang Road-orchard.
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