Xitai Thorny Grape

Xitai Thorny Grape

Xitai Thorny Grape is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　The grape industry belt in Muyun Township. With Xitai Thorny Grape Valley as the main production area, it spans 16 villages including Hutou Village, Yulin, and Gaoling, covering an area of over 1,200 acres, with an annual output exceeding 1,500 tons. Among them, Hutou Village has the best thorny grape seedling industry. The She ethnic people, in cultivating wild thorny grapes, have adapted to the local geographical environment and specific conditions by planting along the streams, building trellises over the water, and making full use of the space on the stream surface. This allows the thorny grape vines to interlace, forming a unique and distinctive southern “Thorny Grape Valley” stretching nearly 5 kilometers. The valley is shaded by greenery overhead, with murmuring streams below, and the gravel paths on both sides add a special charm. In recent years, Muyun She Ethnic Township has used Xitai Thorny Grape Valley as a demonstration site to guide fruit farmers in extending thorny grape cultivation to Chayuan Stream and Xiuxi, expanding from riverside planting to courtyards, gardens, and paddy fields, creating a picturesque She ethnic rural scenery.

　　Agricultural sightseeing tourism

　　　　The agricultural sightseeing tourism of Xitai Grape Valley combines grape production with tourism, developing vineyard sightseeing tours to increase farmers' income. With its uniquely distinctive thorny grape valley and rich She ethnic culture, it has been rated as a national A-level scenic area, attracting a large number of tourists who come to sightsee, taste grapes, and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

　　Xitai Village

　　　　It is a purely ethnic minority village, located in the western part of Fu’an City, Fujian Province, 4 kilometers from the township government seat, and borders the scenic Baiyun Mountain to the north. The village covers an area of about 2 square kilometers, with a current population of 626 people, 126 households, and jurisdiction over 2 natural villages. Xitai Village was formerly part of Xiting Brigade (connected to present-day Hutou Village), and after the liberation, it became Xitai Brigade. The founding ancestor of Xitai, Huan Gong, migrated here from Shouning during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, and it has a history of about 500 years. It later became the largest origin point of the Lan clan migration in the Ningde region. Later generations also built structures such as the “Lin Gong Da Wang Palace” and the “Lan Clan Ancestral Hall.” Some ancestral customs have been preserved, including the grand She ethnic song competitions held every year on the third day of the third lunar month, as well as “Black Rice,” “Sticky Rice Cakes,” and the “Pillow Zongzi” made during the Dragon Boat Festival. There are also unique cultural performances with historical significance, such as the witch dance “Nainiang Cai Gang” and the modern “Qiangdan Dance.” The village still retains an ancient architectural structure known as the “Child Holding Umbrella” house, which is supported by a single pillar holding up the entire house, showcasing unique architectural charm and earning praise from industry experts. There is also an ancient millstone structure, a bunker-style building with one-meter-thick earthen walls, which played a significant role during modern revolutionary wars. The village produces distinctive agricultural products such as honey peaches and thorny grapes. Honey peaches are sold at around ten yuan per jin, with the village producing about 50 tons annually, generating over one million yuan in output value. Thorny grapes are a wild crop with strong vitality, requiring no fertilizers or pesticides, making them a natural and eco-friendly agricultural product. Through guided cultivation by villagers, they have spread across nearly four kilometers along the “Xiaoxi” and “Chayuanxi” streams, yielding over 100 tons annually and generating over one million yuan in output value. They form a uniquely scenic and beautiful grape valley, which has been rated as the third-best grape valley in China by the National Grape Association. It has now been integrated into tourism development and has become a major source of income for the village.