Yicheng is a district of Zaozhuang in Shandong, formerly known as Yi [yì] County, located in the south of Zaozhuang City. Got off the high-speed train at Zaozhuang Station and took the bus straight to Yicheng. Out of the city, into the territory of Yicheng, it is like entering an ocean. It was a sea of pomegranates.
As far as the eye can see, except for the rolling hills not far away, all you can see are pomegranate trees, which are dotted with red pomegranate flowers. The leaves were as green as if they had just been washed in water; the durian flowers were fiery red, like holding a small torch. There is an ancient poem cloud "May durian flowers red like fire". It is the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the season of durian flowers. The road is winding and undulating, somewhat similar to a winding road – it's hilly and the ground is undulating.
Scenic path
Cars are driving on the road, like a flat boat floating in the middle of a vast ocean. The green leaves are the surging waves, and the red flowers are the splashing waves. Driver Xiao Zhang told me that this is the famous Guanshi Liuyuan, which has more than 100,000 acres of land. At this time in previous years, the garden was full of tourists, and the beautiful ladies were dressed in flowers and branches, competing with the fiery red durian flowers. The men were busy with their phones and cameras. As long as you are interested, you will not feel tired after a day in the garden. Xiao Zhang did not brag, and from the time he arrived at noon, I handed over the whole afternoon to the pomegranate garden.
Surrounded by mountains, the GuanShi Liu Garden
Guanshi Liuyuan is located in the western part of Yicheng District, with a length of 30 kilometers from east to west, a width of 4 kilometers from north to south, and a total area of more than 180,000 mu. There are more than 7 million durian trees and 48 varieties in the park. Yixian Liuyuan was formed during the western Han Dynasty, with a history of more than 2,000 years. Today, the ancient, elegant, magnificent and beautiful Guanshi Liuyuan garden has a more charming charm. It is like a bright pearl that changes colors with the seasons, embedded in the green mountains and waters of Lunan.
Guan Shi Liu Garden is also a scenic tourist attraction
I can't help but wonder, why are there so many pomegranate trees in Yicheng?
A local friend told me that Yicheng was able to become the "hometown of Chinese pomegranates" because of the Western Han Dynasty's famous Xiang Kuangheng. Pomegranate, also known as An pomegranate, is native to Iran, Afghanistan and other regions, and was introduced to China from the western region during the Western Han Dynasty. According to the Western Jin Dynasty Zhang Hua's "Natural history", "Han Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, and tu Lin An Shi Guo Durian species to return, so the name An Pomegranate. According to liu xin's "Miscellaneous Records of Xijing" of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty built a forest garden in Chang'an, Kyoto, and hundreds of officials offered strange flowers and fruits, including An pomegranate.
According to legend, the Pomegranate Garden in Yixian County was planted by Kuang Heng from Chang'an Shanglin Garden to his hometown during the Hancheng Emperor's reign, and gradually multiplied. Yixian has a deep soil and good soil fertility, which is very suitable for the growth of pomegranates. Under the advocacy and encouragement of Kuang Heng, the people of Yixian County began to cultivate pomegranates extensively, forming a scale, which has flourished for thousands of years. During the Ming Dynasty, the pomegranate in Yixian county was used as a tribute to the imperial court. Nowadays, pomegranate cultivation has become a characteristic industry in Yicheng, and durian flowers have also become the city flowers of Zaozhuang City.
Pomegranate flowers
Pomegranate is a kind of fruit that people love to eat, in addition to the fruit, its leaves, roots, skin, flowers have a use, it can be said that the whole body is a treasure. Pomegranate leaves can be used to make tea and medicine, and pomegranate peels, root barks and flowers can be used in medicine. According to legend, the hero Yue Fei suffered from an eye disease and recuperated at the Qingtan Temple in the pomegranate garden. Master Fa Cong of Qingtan Temple used local materials and cured Yue Fei's eye disease with durian leaves, durian flowers, durian fruit atrium and deep mountain herbs. The authenticity of this legend cannot be verified, but later generations built a building here, named "Yue Fei Yang Eye Building".
There is also an ancient temple in Guanshi Liuyuan, Qingtan Temple
According to the "Yixian Chronicle", "Qingtan Temple is on the eastern toe of Qingtan Mountain, surrounded by Lan Xiu, dense bamboo trees, and the scenery is unique. According to legend, song Yue Wumu garrison nursing place, stone wall inscription, vague and indecipherable, thought that Wu mu inscription also. "That afternoon, after we visited Yue Fei's Eye Building, we found a small tea house outside the Qingtan Temple to drink tea. The owners are two elderly people, who were middle school teachers before retirement, and after retirement, they opened this tea house and entertained guests with homemade durian tea. They say that durian leaf tea is heat-clearing, detoxifying and digestive, and is most suitable for drinking this summer.
Come to Yicheng in June, of course, to see the durian flowers. Walking among the pomegranate trees, the durian flowers of each tree are red like fire, dazzling red, and red is warm. The pomegranate tree has a beautiful shape, twisted branches, vigorous and simple, varied and natural scenery. The leaves are turquoise and shiny, and the flowers are colorful and colorful. The pomegranate flower consists of calyxes and petals, resembling a small trumpet, and is red throughout. The calyx is shiny and waxy, and the petals are spread upwards and outwards from the top of the flared tube. The petals are wrinkled, with single petals and heavy petals. The whole flower looks like a girl's red dress, I wonder if the term "pomegranate skirt" comes from this? Some workers were pruning pomegranate trees in the scorching sun, and they cut a branch of durian flowers to the ground. Originally, the pomegranate flower was divided into "fruit flower" and "guihua", and the "fruit flower" was female, mostly born at the top of the fruiting branch, with obvious expansion at the base and a high fruit rate; "guihua" was male, the base was small, and it automatically fell off after flowering. In order not to affect the fruit of the durian tree, the flowers must be cut off at the right time.
Heavy pomegranates
Pomegranate flowers bloom fiercely in a green field, spewing thin and blooming like a roaring flame, which makes people excited and inspires the literati. The Jin dynasty Pan Yuezuo has "An Pomegranate Endowment", whose prologue is cloudy: "Durian, the strange tree of the world, the famous fruit of Kyushu." The Liangyuan Emperor Xiao Xuan described the pomegranate in the "Poetry of Yong Pomegranate" as "the leaves are like new cuts, and the flowers are like old cuts". When the poet Li Bai lived in Yi County, he wrote "Under the east window of Lu Nu, the sea is rare in the world", for the sake of beauty, Li Bai "is willing to be a southeast branch, and hold up the Luo clothes low". The poet Li Shangyin said in the poem "Pomegranate": "The durian branch is graceful and prosperous, and the durian film is light and bright and the durian is fresh." Can envy yaochi peach tree, peach red cheeks for a thousand years. The Song Dynasty poet Ouyang Xiu also praised the poem: "The green leaf evening warbler cries in a dense place, and the red room is busy when the sun shines at the beginning." "Durian flowers hate coming late, and they are worried about the late spring period." The Song Ren Shi Yannian's "Durian Flower" is full of fantastic ideas: "The Queen Mother saw the planting in front of the court, and Zhang Qian stole it from the next heaven." Whoever is a clever woman is crippled with needle and thread, and a handful of raw red ironing cannot be opened. ”
Pomegranate seeds
For thousands of years, the durian flower has been deeply loved by the literati, and the poems of chanting pomegranates are numerous. These famous passages that have been passed down through the ages have added endless charm to the durian flower.
Industrious and wise Yicheng people, it can be said that they have done enough pomegranate articles, they have developed a series of products around pomegranates, and the ornamental value, edible value, medicinal value and economic value of pomegranates have been fully exerted, and pomegranate tea, pomegranate wine, and pomegranate juice have become popular in the market as green products. Yicheng pomegranate bonsai, mainly based on stump bonsai, through carving, tying, twisting, pruning and other artistic processing and careful cultivation, forming a momentum of mountains and forests within easy reach, enjoying a high reputation at home and abroad.