Wenzhou Tangerine

Wenzhou Tangerine

　　　　Product Name: Wenzhou Tangerine

　　　　Product Alias: Seedless Tangerine

　　　　Place of Origin: Wenzhou, Zhejiang

　　　　Product Features: Thin-skinned, seedless, juicy flesh that is sweet as honey

　　　　Product Composition: Protein, fat, organic acid, Vitamin C

　　　　Product Benefits: Clears heat, promotes body fluid production, stimulates appetite, diuretic, expectorant and cough-relieving effects. It is highly resilient, clears heat and detoxifies. The peel and inner membrane can be used in traditional Chinese medicine.

　　　　Product Introduction: Wenzhou Tangerine belongs to the loose-skinned citrus group and is primarily produced in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, also known as the Seedless Tangerine. Wenzhou Tangerine is highly resilient, adaptable, capable of early and stable high yields, and is of good quality and easy to cultivate. The producing area is located in the subtropical zone, backed by mountains and facing the sea, with a warm climate, abundant rainfall, crisscrossing waterways, and fertile land—ideal growing conditions for tangerines. Particularly in the Wucun District of Ouhai County, a traditional citrus-growing region where tangerine cultivation is most concentrated, it is hailed as the "Hometown of Citrus." In recent years, the tangerines have bright orange-yellow skins, juicy flesh that is sweet as honey, and both the fruit and juice offer benefits such as clearing heat, promoting body fluid production, stimulating appetite, diuretic effects, and expectorant and cough-relieving properties. The peel and inner membrane can be used in traditional Chinese medicine.

　　　　Product History: As early as the Song Dynasty, there were already “creamy tangerines” (乳柑) with few or no seeds among Ou tangerines. The "Qun Fang Pu" (群芳谱, "Collection of Famous Flowers") records: “The tangerines from Nishan (now Yishan in Cangnan) are the best, their flavor resembles cream, hence the name. Their trees are graceful, leaves slender, blossoms fragrant, fruits round and regular, skins glossy like wax, size six or seven inches, thin-skinned with exquisite taste, segments not sticking together, leaving no residue when eaten, usually with one or two seeds, sometimes even none. When split open, they emit a fragrant mist, making them the finest of all tangerines.” Chao Puzhi once wrote a poem in praise: “Wenzhou’s rare fruit, only those from Nishan are precious. Delivered thousands of miles to the Jiangnan region, half frosted, veiled in light mist, once timid in the eyes of the Wu ladies. Fortunately gifted to me—how could green or yellow tangerines compare?” Unfortunately, ancient China did not breed these “creamy tangerines” into the seedless “Wenzhou Tangerine.” The journey from the spread of Ou tangerines to the return of Wenzhou Tangerines to their homeland is quite legendary. Today, Wenzhou Tangerine is the most thriving member of the citrus family, visible everywhere from Taiwan Island to the highlands of Tibet, from the foothills of the Five Finger Mountains to the Hanzhong Basin, and around the world.

　　　　Product Story: In the early 15th century, a Japanese high monk named Chihui visited the Tiantai Guoqing Temple in China for worship and then took a boat back to Japan via Wenzhou. During his stay in Wenzhou, he tasted the delicious Ou tangerines and brought several baskets back to the temple in Nagashima Village, Kashima, Kyushu, Japan. After the monks shared the tangerines, they casually tossed the peels in the temple garden. Unexpectedly, the following spring, sprouts emerged and grew into tangerine seedlings. Years later, the seedlings matured into trees that flowered and bore fruit. Among these Ou tangerine trees, one was found to bear completely seedless fruit. Through repeated refinement using grafting techniques, a new variety of seedless tangerine was eventually cultivated. Since it originated from the Ou tangerines of Wenzhou, it was named “Wenzhou Tangerine.” It has since been widely planted in Japan and exported abroad.