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District celebrates peach harvest
Print Edition
THE Fengxian District government yesterday launched a yellow peach festival to help local farmers sell the city’s homegrown fruit after a sharp decline in production drove up the price.
The city’s production of the yellow peach, which is one of Shanghai’s four most popular fruits, fell by nearly half over last year due to unfavorable weather conditions, according to the government.
The price of the fruit has increased by 50 percent from about 20 yuan (US$3) per kilogram in 2015 to about 30 yuan this year, said Pan Jun, the governor of Qingcun Town in Fengxian, which is famous for its yellow peaches.
The production decrease is mainly due to dry weather in the Yangtze River Delta region in March and constant rain in April, said Pan.
However, the scorching weather since mid-July has resulted in the surviving yellow peaches being bigger and sweeter than previous years, Pan added.
Free shuttle bus lines will run through September 18 to attract downtown residents to Qingcun Town during the festival.
The town government is encouraging farmers to invite consumers to their homes and orchards to pick yellow peaches and experience the rural lifestyle, said Pan.
The town government has also opened several farm villages, including Zhudian and Jiefang, to visitors. Village craftsmen will showcase intangible cultural heritages such as peach-pit carving.
Many fake Fengxian-grown yellow peaches that appear on the market are actually from neighboring provinces, Pan said.
To ensure that consumers are getting the real thing, the district government has put a QR code on each box. Consumers can verify that the fruit is authentic Fengxian produce by scanning the code with their mobile phone. The name and address of the farmers who produced it will also appear on the screen.
Law enforcement officials with the district’s market inspection authority are patrolling the fruit markets in the district to crack down on sellers of fake Fengxian peaches.
“It is easy to identify yellow peaches from Fengxian because they are bigger and heavier than other peaches,” Pan said.
Farmers in the district began planting the yellow peach in the 1920s because the environment and climate are very suitable for the growing of the fruit, which is believed to be more nutritious than ordinary peaches and can help to prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
In the 1960s, the district government invited scientists from the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences to improve the species, making it bigger, sweeter and juicier. It has since become one of the most prized fruits in the country, according to Pan.
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