"Spring is a mighty spring, it is a cold food every year, and the pear blossom season. The white brocade is fragrant without stripes, and the jade trees are piled with snow. The night is quiet, the mist is floating, and the cold soak dissolves the moon. In the heavens on earth, the rotten silver glow shines through. ”
The part of the Southern Song Dynasty Quanzhen Daoist Teaching Qiu Chuji's "No Vulgar Thoughts, Lingxu Palace Pear Flower Words" seems to be dedicated to describing the flower viewing scenery of the ancient pear garden in Shichuan, Lanzhou, Gansu Province. During the Qing Dynasty, the people who came to the ancient pear garden in GaolanShichuan Town, Gansu Province, were mighty, and the pear blossoms on both sides of the Yellow River were blooming in the spring breeze, just like setting two snow-white laces on the ancient Yellow River.
The pear blossoms of the ancient pear garden in Gaolan Shichuan are in full bloom
In autumn, the yellow pears are hung on the branches, and the leaves are baptized by the wind and frost, and the fire is red, and the layers of forests are dyed. People are busy picking pears, and everywhere there is a scene of harvest celebration.
In autumn, the scenery of Shichuan ancient pear orchards is soaked in forests
Shichuan Ancient Pear Garden is located in the suburbs of Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, the Yellow River runs through the town, where melons and fruits are abundant, known as the "Little Jiangnan" plug. Here the Yellow River turns northward, and the impact plains at the bend are fertile. There are green mountains in the north and south, turbulence in the east and west, beautiful scenery and pleasant climate. The most breathtaking thing is that there is currently the largest 10,000-mu pear orchard in China, known as the "world's first ancient pear garden", which was officially recorded in the "Guinness Book of World Records" in 2013. On May 21 of the same year, Gaolan Shichuan Ancient Pear Garden was included in the first batch of China's important agricultural cultural heritage list by the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China.
Shichuan pear tree cultivation has a long history, with a history of more than 400 years. In the eighth year of Ming Hongzhi (1495), Xu Jin, the governor of Gansu, built the "Shizichuan Fort" in the center of present-day Shichuan and named it Shichuan. From the Jiajing period (about 1520), the ancestors of Shichuan have been planting pear trees along the Yellow River.
There are ancient pear trees with a history of more than 300 years in the Gaolan Shichuan Ancient Pear Garden
Local fruit growers built water wheels to draw water from the Yellow River to irrigate orchards, and began to plant pears, where the mountains surrounded hindered the invasion of cold Siberian air currents, the climate was mild, the soil was fertile, coupled with convenient irrigation conditions, long sunshine hours, and large temperature differences between day and night, pear trees grew vigorously. The amazing thing is that these pear trees have flourished for more than 300 years. Most of the existing ancient pear trees are more than 300 years old, and thousands of ancient pear trees that are more than 100 years old still exist. Although the trunk of the tree that has gone through vicissitudes has been hollowed out, it is still entangled and leafy, and it is still fruitful. Generally speaking, the lifespan of pear trees is also several decades, but Shichuan Pear Garden is a miracle and a mystery. This must be the result of the careful care of local fruit farmers for generations.
Locals refer to the planting of pear trees as "high fields", and fruit growers not only have to loosen the soil, fertilize and deworm the pear trees. In early spring, it is also necessary to "scrape the bark" - scrape the old bark of the folds of the fruit tree with a knife in order to remove the pest larvae and eggs hidden in the folds; the flowering period "pile sand" - cover the fruit tree with a layer of sand and gravel to isolate the moth-like pests from laying eggs in the underground soil; usually also need the "heavenly handle" to use the ladder to shuttle between the half-empty pear trees, trimming the fruit trees, thinning the flowers and fruit, hanging the branches, and picking the fruit. When the pears are ripe and harvested, it is also necessary to do a good job in the safe winter of fruit trees and continue to control pests and diseases.
Freshly picked pears
Harvested pears gansu people called "Gaolan soft pear", "huaxin pear", "perfume pear", when the pear was first harvested, its color was yellow with green, green in the red, the flesh was harder, the taste was sweet and slightly sour. If the fresh pear is covered with wheat grass to "sweat", after more than 10 days, it will be pale yellow, the skin is thin and the flesh is soft, and the sourness and sweetness are moderate. The peel is intact pear picked out, stored in the cellar or on a dimly lit indoor wooden board rack, after more than 40 days, the flesh fermentation softens, the peel turns brown and returns to sand, the fruit taste becomes sweet, this period is called "chemical heart" or "sugar heart". The fermented pears are selected again, placed in the outdoor cryopreservation, and served to guests during the Spring Festival, with better flavor. At this time, the fruit is frozen like a stone, and you cannot use fire to forcibly thaw when eating, otherwise the taste will become sour and lose its original flavor. It should be soaked in cold water and placed in a warm room, waiting for it to naturally thaw. After about ten minutes, there will be ice shells condensed on the surface of the pear, and after fishing out, the ice shells can be removed before eating. At this time, the pear is soft as mud, the slurry is full, the taste is sweeter than honey, and there is a taste of fruit wine. When eating, tear the peel of the fruit, suck with the mouth, a package of honey-like juice suddenly dissolves in the mouth, drinking sweet and refreshing, cool silk, fragrant, refreshing, lingering taste for a long time. The so-called "thin skin a bag of water, a lump of meat mud", therefore, Gaolan soft pear is also called "perfume pear". Mr. Yu Youren, a famous Chinese educator, is very fond of eating soft pears, and once wrote a poem: "Soft pears in ice and snow, the first strange thing in the city of melons and fruits." The red face of the tree is not taken, and the fragrance is waiting to be turned into mud."
Gao Lan soft pear
Gaolan soft pear is not only excellent in taste, but also rich in nutrients, rich in various fruit acids and essential vitamins. Soluble solids are generally around 13% and have extremely high nutritional value. Li Shizhen recorded in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" that soft pears have the effects of moisturizing the lungs, cooling the heart, eliminating phlegm, reducing fire, relieving alcohol, and detoxifying sores. If you eat too greasy food and feel uncomfortable in the stomach, or drunk, dizzy, or fever and headache, cough dry mouth, uncomfortable body, or gas poisoning, dizziness and nausea... Eating a few Gaolan soft pears or drinking a few mouthfuls of juice will alleviate the condition to a certain extent.
In recent years, with the development of production and the increase in population, pear orchards are facing the danger of being encroached upon and occupied, and the ancient pear garden landscape with huge momentum and deep pear rhyme is facing severe challenges. In accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Agriculture for the protection of China's important agricultural cultural heritage, the people's government of Gaolan County has set up a special institution to formulate a development plan and management measures for the protection and development of ancient pear orchards, and to rapidly restore the planting area of pear trees through a series of measures such as mapping and filing, information collection, maintenance and rejuvenation. Relying on the resources of ancient pear trees, the local government vigorously develops tourism and continuously increases the income of farmers. The eleventh "Lanzhou Shichuan Spring" tourism festival has been held consecutively, integrating tourism, culture, sports and entertainment into one, forming a new type of leisure agricultural tourism area based on the beautiful scenery of pear garden, the scenery of the Yellow River, and the leisure and entertainment of farmers. Shichuan Ancient Pear Garden is once again full of life!
The world's first ancient pear garden - Gaolan Shichuan ancient pear garden
The pear garden in spring is a world of ice and jade, and the endless jade trees and honeysuckles outline a beautiful picture. The deep fragrance of pear blossoms, the fresh smell of earth, refreshing the spleen, make people intoxicated; in summer, the emerald green canopy in the pear garden is connected, and people who have been busy for a day chat and cool down under the pear trees; in autumn, next to the pear garden, the farm yard is full of golden bun valleys, and the white garlic braids are hung under the eaves, red pepper strings, and the green and red pears under the grass curtains in the house are sleeping quietly. The white-haired old man drove the chickens and sheep who came to steal food with a cigarette stick, and the children frolicked in the yard; the snow covered everything in winter, and the house in the small courtyard emitted bursts of cheerful laughter, and a plate of black-brown soft pears was placed on the Kang table. Shichuan under the pear tree is full of idyllic poetry, like a pure land outside the world, which will fill the hearts of everyone who comes here with peace and tranquility. I wish that this unique agricultural cultural heritage can remain on the land of Gansu forever!