The summer in Huashi Town, Xiangtan County, Hunan Province, has a unique taste, and on a sunny day, a gust of hot wind blows from the wide lotus field, and the town revels in a faint fragrance.
Hu Peiyuan, a "post-90s" who calls himself the "Third Generation of Lotuses", has a special love for Xianglian in his hometown, and after graduating from high school, he officially entered the industry, relying on the family's heirloom planting skills to help people plant lotuses in other provinces. In 2017, Hu Peiyuan began to form his own team in his hometown, set up a special company, and the "new generation" of Xianglian people began a modern operation model.
"There are 16 core members of the company, the average age is 30 years old, the youngest is 24 years old, and their life and growth experience are constantly related to Xianglian. Everyone has a clear division of labor, people make the best use of their talents, learn business administration to manage production, and learn economic management and procurement. Hu Peiyuan said.
This is a lotus flower photographed at the Xianglian planting base in Ma'an Village, Huashi Town. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Liu Wangmin)
Huashi Town is prosperous because of Xianglian, relying on small lotus seeds, Huashi Town has become a nationally renowned Xianglian distribution center, and is also one of the first 10 agricultural towns in Hunan Province. Every summer and autumn when the lotus flowers are in full bloom and the Xianglian is ripe, on the edge of the lotus field, people come and go, and there is a harvest scene.
From simple planting, family handicraft workshops to modern company operation, this is the three generations of changes that Hu Peiyuan has experienced in the Xianglian industry from his grandparents and fathers to himself. He said: "Today, with the addition of more 'post-90s' Xianglian people, the Xianglian industry has shown strong vitality. ”
The concentrated lotus planting area is in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In recent years, with the gradual upgrading of market demand, the "lotus economy" has become increasingly rich and diversified. Generations of Xianglian people continue to explore in product innovation, in addition to the traditional mooncake filling, eight treasure porridge ingredients, dry ingredients, medicinal materials, lotus bonsai, lotus drinks, etc. are also emerging in the market, followed by the rise of more and more modern enterprises.
At a Xianglian processing base in Huashi Town, workers sort Xianglian. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Liu Wangmin)
The reporter visited the Huashi Xianglian Market and saw that in a production workshop, the dark dried lotus seeds, after breaking the shell, cored, grinding and other processes, became round and white. "Shell lotus does not require a refrigerated environment for preservation, we can achieve year-round production, and now most companies are order-based processing." Tong Gang, vice president of the Xiangtan County Xianglian Industry Association, said that as of July 2021, there are more than 200 registered Xianglian enterprises in Huashi Town.
At present, the planting area of Xianglian in Huashi Town is more than 20,000 mu, and every time Xianglian matures, the "lotus economy" such as sightseeing, picking and leisure has become a new highlight of rural revitalization. However, Hu Peiyuan believes that to achieve high-quality development of the Xianglian industry in Huashi Town, it is also necessary to work the brand building of Xianglian and the excavation of lotus culture.
Around the time of autumn, it is the harvest season. In the lotus field, the lotus flowers are wrapped in a layer of transparent dew in the morning light, and the large lotus canopy with a large bowl mouth proudly stretches its head, and the rural fields of Huashi Town are a good pink emerald green. (Reporters Liu Wangmin and Zhang Shujing)