Ten-Thousand-Mu Pear Orchard

Ten-Thousand-Mu Pear Orchard

Ten-Thousand-Mu Pear Orchard

The Li Zhai Ten-Thousand-Mu Pear Orchard in Da Sha He Town was established in 1958. Originally an orchard of Li Zhai Township, it covered an area of 2,000 mu, with a planting spacing of 6×8 meters. The main variety was Feng County White Crisp Pear, and pollinating varieties included Duck Pear, Yellow Pear, and Purple Crisp, among others. After nearly twenty years of development, extending from Shuang Miao in Yao Zhuang Village, Da Sha He Town in the east to Chen Zhuang in Er Ba Village, Da Sha He Town in the west, the orchard now spans over 12,000 mu.

For over forty years, the hardworking and intelligent pear farmers of the Sha He region have prioritized technological investment and strengthened scientific management of White Crisp Pear production. They have implemented soil-testing-based scientific fertilization, scientific pruning, artificial pollination, thinning of flowers and fruits, and comprehensive pest and disease control, all aimed at improving the rate of high-quality fruit. This has transformed the former Yellow River floodplains into today’s blooming fruit gardens. In 1999, leaders from surrounding counties and cities visited the Ten-Thousand-Mu Pear Orchard more than 20 times, with over 6,000 people coming to study and praise the site. The “Da Sha He” brand high-quality White Crisp Pears produced here are large, crisp, thin-skinned, juicy, and nutrient-rich. Since 1990, the White Crisp Pears have won over 40 major awards in national, provincial, and municipal fruit competitions, and have been continuously recognized as “Ministry-Level Excellent,” “Provincial-Level Excellent,” and “Municipal-Level Excellent” products. They have also earned the title of “King of Pears” nationally and a gold award at the National Agricultural Expo. Since 1997, the use of fruit bags has been promoted, making the White Crisp Pears natural green food, with market prices 75% higher than ordinary crisp pears. In 1999, they were designated as the only pollution-free fruit at the World Horticultural Exposition in Kunming, China, and were granted permanent naming rights. The Ten-Thousand-Mu White Crisp Pear Demonstration Orchard has become the top-ranked model orchard among Jiangsu Province’s Top Ten. The orchard’s “Scientific High-Yield Cultivation and Management Techniques” won the Jiangsu Province “Science and Technology Progress Award.” The White Crisp Pears produced here, thanks to their superior quality, are sold across more than 30 major cities nationwide, as well as to Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and exported to Southeast Asia, earning high praise from consumers both in China and abroad. The Ten-Thousand-Mu White Crisp Pear Demonstration Orchard has become a model fruit garden in Jiangsu Province. Every Qingming season, thousands of pear trees burst into bloom, creating a sea of flowers and offering tourists a wonderful destination for leisure, flower viewing, poetry, painting, and lyric writing.

● Century-Old Pear Orchard & King Pear Tree

The Century-Old Pear Orchard is located in Li Da Lou Village, Song Lou Town. The existing fruit trees are divided into four main areas, planted according to the Bagua Nine Palaces layout, with a total of 668 trees. Research confirms that the orchard is approximately 200 years old, making it the oldest and largest ancient pear tree group in the Xuzhou region. The main cultivated variety is Crisp Pear, with supporting varieties including Horse Hoof Yellow, Chicken Claw Yellow, Goose Yellow Crisp, and Green Skin Rough Seed, among others. The pear trees exhibit the charm of scattered ancient trees — their trunks are solid as cast iron, branches twist like dragons, appearing vigorous and majestic with high ornamental value. Each tree has a unique form and grace, competing in beauty and inspiring endless imagination. The century-old pear trees remain vigorous despite their age. In spring, the orchard is like a sea of fragrant snow, filled with birdsong and floral scents; in summer, the branches are lush and emerald green; in autumn, the boughs are heavy with sweet, crisp fruit; and in winter, the trees stand firmly against the cold, proud and unyielding. Each season offers a different experience. Being in the orchard feels like entering a fairyland — refreshing, serene, and delightfully ethereal. Historical records state that during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, these pears were designated as “Tribute Pears,” gaining fame far and wide. Many folk legends circulate about the King Pear Tree, Couple Trees, Love Trees, Thousand-Hand Guanyin, and Gathering Stars Around the Moon:

The King Pear Tree of the Century-Old Grove is located in the Zhen position (Shock trigram) of the Bagua Nine Palaces within the pear garden and is the king of the 668 ancient pear trees. Its trunk is 80 centimeters thick, requiring five children holding hands to encircle it. The tree canopy has a diameter of 14 meters, covering more than 3 fen of land. It yields over 1,000 kilograms annually, with fruit that is crisp, residue-free, sweet, and intoxicating. The tree has a graceful form, exuding a regal presence, living in harmonious splendor, and smiling among its floral companions. A poem praises it:

Pear Grove’s Shock Trigram faces the eastern wood, Morning bathed in sunlight, night drinking dew.

Through cold and heat for two hundred years, Today’s fame as king is truly due.

The Couple Tree is located in the Wu position (Central Palace) of the Bagua Nine Palaces. The two trees stand left and right, like a couple embracing, expressing deep affection — hence the name Couple Tree, also known as the Harmony Tree. The Couple Tree has three wonders: first, the soil beneath it remains moist year-round, with green vegetation — a rarity for miles around; second, it is said that at dusk and moonrise, faint whispers of lovers can be heard in the orchard; third, in the official register of ancient and notable trees, it holds serial number 157, which phonetically sounds like “I want a wife.” To the east of the tree is the elder daughter, and to the west is the younger — a happy family of four. A poem says:

The Century-Old Pear Grove is truly wondrous, The Couple Tree beneath holds true mystery.

Green grass as bedding, earth as bed, Love enduring across three centuries.

● Tao Lou Red Fuji Apple New Variety Demonstration Orchard

The Tao Lou Ministry of Agriculture Red Fuji Apple New Variety Demonstration Orchard is located in Hua Shan Town, Feng County. Established in March 1996, it covers 100 mu and includes eight experimental zones. The main variety is deep-red Red Fuji, with pollinating varieties being the fifth-generation deep-red short-branch Red Delicious. There are six main varieties and 28 strains in the entire orchard.

The orchard has invited renowned fruit tree technical experts from the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Japan for guidance and lectures, establishing new management models such as V-shaped pruning and post-supported cultivation. In June 1997, a micro-tube drip irrigation system was installed in the orchard, laying 1,020 meters of main channels and 7,840 meters of branch channels. This system saves 55 cubic meters of water per mu — a 68% reduction in water usage, and cuts costs by 9 yuan per mu, a 56% decrease, while also saving labor and space, making management easier. A series of pollution-free, high-quality fruit production techniques have been promoted and applied, including fruit thinning and bagging, scientific water control, reflective film mulching, leaf removal, and fruit turning.

The Red Fuji apples produced here have successively won provincial, ministerial, and second Agricultural Expo gold awards. The high-quality fruit has received 140 awards at national, provincial, and municipal levels. In 1998, it was honored as a Model Orchard of Jiangsu Province, and in 1999, it won 8 out of 21 awards in the Jiangsu Provincial High-Quality Fruit Competition, achieving the highest total score in the province.

Information source: Feng County Tourism Bureau, Agriculture and Forestry Bureau

Da Sha He Town: I. Geographic Location and Overview of Da Sha He

Da Sha He in Feng County is located in the northwest of Jiangsu Province, at the junction of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces and three counties, 18 kilometers south of Feng County’s urban center. It covers a total area of 128 square kilometers, with 53,400 mu of arable land, averaging 1.04 mu of arable land per person. The town administers 19 administrative villages and 194 villager groups. By the end of 2004, there were 12,819 households and a total population of 58,000, including fewer than 100 individuals from three ethnic minorities: Hui and Zhuang. Of these, 51,000 are agricultural residents, with a population density of 400 people per square kilometer. The town area... More detailed information on Da Sha He Town++