Pinghe Bananas

Pinghe Bananas

　　Pinghe bananas are known for their thin skin, fragrant aroma, soft texture, sweet taste, and seedless quality, offering both excellent flavor and nutrition. Per 100 grams of banana pulp, they contain 486 joules of energy, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of protein, 20 milligrams of vitamin C, as well as various nutrients and vitamins such as phosphorus, calcium, and iron. Among these, the content of carbohydrates and protein is higher than that of oranges, mangoes, pineapples, and papayas. The fruit pulp can moisten the lungs and aid digestion, making it a natural health fruit. In 1992, Pinghe bananas registered the "Bansai" brand trademark with the National Trademark Office, and in 1995 obtained "Green Food" certification, becoming the first banana product in China to be both registered and authorized to use the "Green Food" label. In 1998, it was recognized as a well-known trademark by the Zhangzhou Municipal People's Government.

　　The cultivation of bananas in Pinghe can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, as evidenced by the verse from the Tang-era poet Ding Ru, the Deputy Governor of Zhangzhou, in his poem "Twelve Rhymes of Leisure": “Golden bananas split open, juicy; Longan fruits bring forth refreshment.” Large-scale banana planting has a history of over 700 years. However, it wasn't until the 1980s that production truly scaled up. In the early 1980s, farmers from the Huangqian and Nanshan villager groups in Baonan Village, Bansai Town—hometown of the renowned writer Lin Yutang—were the first to convert paddy fields used for rice cultivation into banana plantations, making bananas their primary source of income. At their peak, bananas were sold for as much as 7.1 yuan per kilogram, yielding several times the economic benefit of rice per mu. The favorable profits motivated farmers across Bansai Town to enthusiastically plant bananas, and by the end of the 1980s, nearly all fields and hillsides in Bansai Town were covered with bananas, spanning over 40,000 mu in total. A wholesale banana market—the largest of its kind in the province—was also established there. Banana cultivation in Pinghe County rapidly expanded during the 1990s. Today, the county grows 75,000 mu of bananas, producing 173,000 tons annually, ranking among the top in Fujian Province. It has become one of China’s most important banana production bases and has been honored as the “Hometown of Chinese Bananas.” The uniquely superior quality of Pinghe bananas stems from their distinctive natural conditions, cultivation techniques, and premium varieties.

　　Pinghe County is recognized as one of China’s “First Batch of National Demonstration Counties for Pollution-Free Agricultural Product (Fruit) Production,” a “Fujian Pollution-Free Production Demonstration Base,” and a “National Production Base for Premium Tropical Crops—Bananas,” boasting ideal natural conditions for growing high-quality bananas. Pinghe bananas are improved and cultivated through continuous purification, strengthening, and selective breeding, possessing excellent biological traits. Moreover, they benefit not only from the “Ten-Character Cultivation Mantra” summarized by local banana farmers over years of practice—“Plant Early, Use Strong Seedlings, Apply Heavy Fertilizer, Dig Deep Trenches, Harvest at Peak Ripeness”—but also from the “New Banana Planting Technique,” jointly pioneered by agricultural scientists and farmers, which won the Second Prize of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Bumper Harvest Program. These factors contribute to Pinghe bananas’ high yield, appealing appearance, and superior quality. Taiwanese banana experts, after visiting Bansai in Pinghe, concluded that the management level and product quality of bananas in Bansai rank among the best in Southeast Asia. Pinghe bananas are renowned both domestically and internationally for their unique flavor and premium quality. The product is not only popular across China but also exported to countries and regions such as Japan and Southeast Asia.