(Taste of China |.) Food) Xinjiang "old hangua": the "summer sweetness" of tourists hugging on the plane

Kashgar, Xinjiang, 8 Aug (ZXS) -- Xinjiang's "Old Hangua": The "Summer Sweetness" of Tourists Holding Planes

Written by Sun Tingwen and Malina

In Xinjiang, where ice peaks and deserts coexist, and the Hanhai and oases are neighbors, the hot summer is the season to eat melons. Recently, a melon commonly known as "old man's melon" has become popular on Chinese social media networks, and when many video bloggers introduce this melon, they pick up a tooth and gently hold it and instantly burst juice. "Old Han melon" was praised by netizens as the "ceiling" among melons, and some commented, "The water that is not in the Xinjiang desert is in this melon." ”

"Old Han melon" scientific name Xiek melon, rich in southern Xinjiang, soft and sweet flesh, moisture, high sugar, even toothless old people can eat, so it is called "old Han melon". The ripe "old melon" resembles a pumpkin, larger than a basketball, with a yellow or light green rind and dark green bands dividing the fruit into approximately 10 petals. Cut open, you can see thin skin and thick flesh, and the color of the flesh gradually changes from apple green to light yellow, crystal translucent, and the aroma is striking.

In July, in the bustling "Khan Bazaar" food street in the ancient city of Kashgar, Xinjiang, almost every melon stall was placed with "old Han melon". Photo by China News Agency reporter Sun Tingwen

In the bustling Kashgar ancient city scenic spot "Khan Bazaar" food street, almost every melon and fruit stall is placed "traffic responsibility" - "old Han melon". Ji Yuzhen, a tourist from Shandong, took his father's hometown to revisit, and his 76-year-old father tasted a tooth of "old han melon" and said: "It is still the taste of many years ago, this kind of melon is not easy to eat in Shandong." ”

This year, Akkash Township, Kashgar City, planted more than 2600,4 mu of "old hangua". Gua farmer Nurmamet Aikmu told reporters that he planted 5.3 mu of "old han melon" this year, and is expected to produce 5.5000 tons, "The technician in the township gave us guidance on the technology of planting melons, this year's melons are larger than last year, the yield is higher, and one mu of land can earn <>,<> yuan (RMB, the same below)." ”

"In order to increase the economic income of 'Lao Hangua' growers, we unify seedling breeding, unified transplanting, unified water and fertilizer management, and unified brand sales." Luo Ren, a special vegetable and melon technician appointed by the Kashgar City Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, said that the output of "old han melon" per mu of land now reaches 700 kg to 1000,5000 kg, and one mu of land has an economic income of 6000,<> to <>,<> yuan.

In mid-July, a large number of "old hangua" were listed in the Kukelan Agricultural Products Wholesale Market in Kashgar City, Xinjiang. Photo by China News Agency reporter Sun Tingwen

In Xinjiang, "old han melon" has a very well-known way of eating, that is, dig up and mash the melon flesh with a spoon, ooze the melon juice between the whiskers, bury the broken naan in it, and eat it together in a short time. The rich aroma of naan and naan-flavored melon make people feast.

The characteristics of thin skin and glutinous meat of "old melon" also make it intolerant to storage and long-distance transportation. However, with the increase of air routes in Xinjiang, the "old Han melons" that used to be only eaten in Xinjiang have begun to go everywhere. Recently, when a reporter from the China News Agency interviewed at Kashgar Lening International Airport, he saw that many tourists returning from Kashgar had become "people who left Xinjiang (Kashgar) with two 'old Hangua'". There are also tourists who leave messages on the Internet: "Family, who understands! I was afraid that it would stumble, and I couldn't check it in, so I could only hold it in my hand and get on the plane. ”

The "old man's melon" sold on the streets of Kashgar recently has soft and sweet flesh, rich moisture and high sugar. Photo by China News Agency reporter Sun Tingwen

In addition to tourists bringing back, now "Old Hangua" has also broadened the "online + offline" sales channels, and there are manufacturers processing "Lao Hangua" into beverages, wine and other products to extend the sales chain. A staff member of an agricultural science and technology development company in Kashgar City that produces and processes three kinds of "old han melon" melon juice drink, the company's staff Rezi Wanguli Jili said: "'old han melon' is not easy to preserve, in the season without 'old han melon', this drink can solve people's pain of 'old han melon'." ”

Kashgar taxi driver Adili Maimeti Aili told reporters that the taste of the "old hangua" drink is quite good. Mu Yaqiong, a Sichuan tourist who came to Kashgar for tourism, said that he still prefers to eat "old han melon" and plans to bring two when he returns to Chengdu, but the "old han melon" drink gives people more choices and is also a good experience.

At the same time, the "old han melon" that grows in southern Xinjiang has been successfully planted in Guangzhou this year. In the future, more and more people may be able to eat soft, sweet and fragrant "old man's melon". (End)