The cherry blossoms are scattered and red hearts are hung, and the jade beads are all over the treetops. The cherry blossoms all over the mountains have just ended, and the sweet fruits have quietly blushed, which is particularly dazzling among the green mountains and green waters of Yanya Town, the "cherry town". It can be said that in early summer, the mountains are green, and the cherries are different red.
Now, it's the season of the annual Yiyuan big cherries on the market, the cherry orchard is rippling with the joy of harvest, and the big cherry market and picking are also lively.
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The area is large and there are many varieties
Let you "eat enough" at a time
The area is so large that you can choose from each orchard. Since 1991, Yanya Town has planted cherry trees sporadically with Yanya Village as the center, and has entered a comprehensive development stage since 1997. After more than 30 years of development, the current large cherry planting scale in Yanya Town has reached 60,000 mu, and the growers account for more than 95% of the total number of households in the town, making it one of the largest townships in the country with large cherry planting area.
▲ Every year in April, cherry blossoms bloom and the mountains are like snow
▲Large cherry packing site
With so many variety, there's something for everyone. There are more than 30 varieties of large cherry varieties cultivated in Yanya Town, such as Red Light, Meizao, Huangmi, Nanyang, Dazi, Rainey, Samito, Ukraine Series, Russian No. 8, Brooks, Santina, Fuchen, Fuxing, etc., and there are early, medium and late maturing varieties.
▲Some large cherry varieties
The choice of quality, all kinds of honors pampered. Yanya big cherry is "pollution-free agricultural products in Shandong Province", "Chinese famous fruit", "Yiyuan big cherry geographical indication identification", "national famous and excellent new agricultural products", "2022 top 20 most popular cherry regional public brands in the market", won 3 first prizes and 3 special prizes at the 9th International Cherry Conference in 2023, and the "Yiyuan big cherry" declared by Yanya Town in 2024 was selected into the third batch of "good Shandong" brand list.
▲ Yanya big cherry
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Pick the fruit with your own hands
Eating while picking is "too addictive"
"For the flowers to bear fruit, pick the incense on the plate." Enjoy cherry blossoms in April, pick cherries in May, come to Yanya Town, Yiyuan County, half-mountain and half-slope, shallow hills and ravines, fields, full of fruitful cherry trees. Look at the large cherries in bunches on the tree, delicate and dripping color, round and full size, with crystal clear dew...... I can't wait to grow "three heads and six arms" immediately, and go into the orchard to eat for three days and three nights.
▲ Ōtō Tao
Good mountains and good water breed good fruits, and the taste is superb. The big cherries here are full of the essence of the landscape, with thin skin, thick meat, juicy, delicious taste, bright color, and the cherry trees are shorter, it is very convenient to pick, you can pick one and put it in your mouth, taste the most natural and fresh first sweetness. Due to geographical and natural environmental factors, the fruit ripening period is about two weeks earlier than that of Yantai cherries, and the open-air cherries generally ripen in steps from mid to late May to mid to late June, giving everyone a lot of travel time.
▲ Freshly picked large cherries
The picking garden in the "Natural Oxygen Bar" is continuous. In the big cherry picking garden in Yanya Town, facing the breeze blowing from the mountains, breathing the fragrance of the mountains, tossing and turning among the cherry trees, selecting exquisite and clear fruits to pick, after a while, the basket is full, comfortable and happy.
▲Information on some picking gardens in Yanya Town
When picking cherries, you need to gently unscrew the fruit stems by hand, and remember that excessive force will cause the branches to shake and the cherries will fall, which will not only waste the fruit, but also may damage the branches, resulting in a lower fruiting rate in the second year. Of course, if you don't have time to pick, you can also buy at the Yanya Town Cherry Market, which is the largest large cherry trading market in Jiangbei, and you can reach it by navigating the "Yanya Big Cherry Market".
▲Yanya big cherry market
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The source of love culture
Picking and playing "two correct"
Yanya Town is not only a "cherry town", but also the birthplace of the love culture of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl - the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl Scenic Area, which is only 3 kilometers away from the big cherry market and can be reached in about 5 minutes.
▲ The entrance of the scenic spot
It is formed in the heavens and in the earth. "The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl", as one of the four major love stories of Chinese folk, has been praised from generation to generation and is known to everyone. The Cowherd and Weaver Girl Scenic Area in Yiyuan County has the only rare landscape in China where the legend corresponds to the real scene and coexists with the ancient architectural ruins - the Weaver Girl Cave and the Cowherd Temple built in the Tang Dynasty, the two are opposite to each other across the Yi River, and the landscape pattern on both sides of the river echoes with the "Altair - Milky Way - Vega Star" in the sky, with a striking similarity, forming a unique landscape of the unity of heaven and man, and the magic of heaven and earth.
▲ "Formed in the sky, formed in the ground" wonder
The culture of love has a long history. The Weaver Girl Cave and the Cowherd Temple in the scenic spot were built in the Tang Dynasty, there are stone tablets of the past dynasties in the hole, which more completely records the history of more than 1,000 years after the construction of the Weaver Girl Cave, and the record of the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is engraved on the stone tablet of the Southern Song Dynasty, which is the earliest written record of the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in the country. In August 2007, Yiyuan County was awarded the "Hometown of the Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" by the China Folklore Society. In June 2008, "The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" was officially included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
▲Vista of the Weaver Girl Cave
Immerse yourself in the love culture and entertainment program. There are many landscapes in the scenic area, such as the Weaver Girl Cave, the Cowherd Temple, the Nine-storied Pagoda, the Weaver Girl Spring, the Leaf Seed Ginkgo, the Arsenal Ruins, the Sister Spring, the Prayer Pavilion, etc., and there are facilities such as the Heartbeat Square, the Hall of Love, the Night Light Interpretation Sculpture - the Love Lotus Pond and other facilities, and the immersive performing arts projects such as "Will Enter the Wine" and Guzheng performances have been created in the Love Museum, and the 16th Qixi Couple's Festival has been held consecutively.
▲ Photos of the 16th Qixi Couple's Day
▲Aerial photography of Heartbeat Square
▲ Amusement facilities
Scenic address: Yiyuan County Yanya Town Cowherd and Weaver Girl Scenic Spot Cowherd and Weaver Girl Scenic Area
Contact ☎ number: 0533-6241777
In May, strings of red cherries hang on the branches, and the crystal clear fruits are sweet and sour. It's another year's picking season, take advantage of the hot summer, make an appointment with three or five relatives and friends, come and experience the fun of cherry picking, feel the charm of love culture~