Xinxian Watermelon Museum

Xinxian Watermelon Museum

The Xinxian Watermelon Museum is a national AA-level tourist attraction.

Dongduzhuang Town in Xinxian County is located at the junction of Hebei, Shandong, and Henan provinces. It administers 42 administrative villages, has a population of 31,000, and covers 47,000 mu of arable land. Watermelon cultivation is the leading agricultural industry in Dongduzhuang Town. Since the development of greenhouse watermelons began in 1993, after more than 20 years of growth, the watermelon planting area has now reached over 40,000 mu. Centered around Dongduzhuang, it has driven the development of watermelon cultivation in surrounding areas as well as towns in Henan and Hebei, covering a total of over 200,000 mu. There are mainly more than 30 varieties including Jingxin, seedless, gift, Luqing, and Jinzhongguanlong, making it the largest standardized watermelon production base in China. In 2000, Dongduzhuang watermelons were awarded the Green Food certification by the China Green Food Development Center, and the "Xiangguo" brand trademark was registered. In 2010, it was named a "Green Food Watermelon Standardized Production Demonstration Area" by the National Standardization Certification Center. In 2013, the "Xinxian Watermelon" geographical indication certification trademark was registered with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the watermelon and long bean varieties were recertified as Green Food brands by the Ministry of Agriculture. The town has also been honored with titles such as "Advanced Town in Agricultural Structure Adjustment," "Advanced Town in Agricultural Industry Revitalization," "Characteristic Industry Town," and "Town with Per Capita Farmer Income of Ten Thousand Yuan" at both municipal and county levels.

After years of development, watermelon cultivation in Dongduzhuang Town has shifted from scale expansion to brand development, and from brand development to enhancing cultural significance. To explore the cultural value of watermelons, expand the "Xinxian Watermelon" brand, strengthen the industry, elevate the level of the watermelon sector, and fully leverage the town’s unique location at the junction of three provinces, the county government invested over 38 million yuan to construct the Xinxian Watermelon Expo Park, which broke ground in November 2013 and has now been fully completed and put into use. The expo park consists of two main parts: the main exhibition hall and the Xinxian Herun Agricultural Science and Technology Promotion Center. Two bases have been built around the main exhibition hall: an agri-tourism base and an intelligent greenhouse seedling base. The agri-tourism demonstration base mainly grows premium, rare, and unique new watermelon varieties, covering a planned area of 600 mu, with the sightseeing and picking area already built and operational. The intelligent greenhouse seedling base has completed the construction of a 4,500-square-meter connected greenhouse, primarily providing technical services to watermelon farmers. The main exhibition hall of the Watermelon Museum covers an area of 2,160 square meters and is divided into three exhibition rooms. These rooms mainly display the spread and development of watermelons, their economic value, cultivation and management, varieties and market, as well as the various benefits that watermelon production has brought to Dongduzhuang. The exhibition hall comprehensively showcases the development journey of Xinxian watermelons using a combination of physical models, wax figures, sculptures, space capsules, sound, light, and electricity. With illustrations and multimedia elements, it presents an integrated experience of sightseeing, entertainment, and fun in a modern agricultural venue. The completion of the Watermelon Museum will play a positive leading role in upgrading the watermelon industry across the county.