Horse Farm Pears

Horse Farm Pears

　　Horse Farm Pears

　　Luoyang is the homeland of pear trees in Shahe County. When the sunny month of March arrives and the pear blossoms are in full bloom, the surrounding area becomes a world of ice and jade. In the 21st year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1841), when Shahe County Magistrate Lu Jie admired the pear blossoms in Luoyang, he was moved to write this generous verse: “Pear blossoms are most fragrant in Luoyang; this place is surprisingly also named Luoyang. A fragrant journey of thirty li, one should also bring wine to wash春装.” Magistrate Lu even compared Shahe’s Luoyang with Luoyang, Henan, known as the Pear Capital of China. This shows how thriving the pear cultivation in our county’s Luoyang was at that time. Luoyang pears are now sold both domestically and internationally under the well-known name “Tianjin Duck Pears.” But Horse Farm Pears have their own legendary characteristics. It is said that in the late Ming Dynasty, there was an attendant of Emperor Chongzhen named Wang Cheng’en, who raised war horses for the emperor by the Sha River. In a wild pasture overgrown with weeds, there stood a pear tree of unknown planting date, whose fruits were extraordinarily sweet. One day, Wang Cheng’en presented a few pears to Emperor Chongzhen. After tasting them, the emperor praised them endlessly, saying, “Among all rare fruits under heaven, none surpasses the Horse Farm Pear.”

　　Since then,

　　Horse Farm Pears

　　have been elevated “three ranks,” becoming a tribute enjoyed by the royal family.

　　Whether or not this legend is true, we will not discuss. But the Horse Farm Pears, cultivated over a long period by the laboring people, are sweet in taste and uniquely flavorful. Their color remains dazzling white even when exposed to the sun, and their flavor does not diminish. The pear flesh is delicate and thin, sweet, tender, and crisp—so ripe that even when unripe, you can split one in half with two hands, and then into quarters. Today, Horse Farm Pears are not only renowned throughout China but are also sold around the world.

　　Eating Horse Farm Pears has various health benefits, including bidirectionally regulating the body’s microbial flora, lowering blood pressure, softening blood vessels, preventing obesity, beautifying for women, helping men sober up, and combating aging.