Linchuan Watermelon

Linchuan Watermelon

　　Linchuan watermelon is a specialty of Linchuan District, Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province. Linchuan District is known as the "Hometown of Watermelon in China" and is the province's leading commercial watermelon production base, with watermelon cultivation once covering an area of over 200,000 mu. Linchuan watermelon is highly favored by consumers in major cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Nanjing, and Shanghai.

　　Linchuan watermelon has enjoyed a long-standing reputation throughout history. As far back as the Song Dynasty, it was widely renowned. The melon is valued for its crisp, sandy, refreshing flesh, sweet juice, minimal fiber, high yield, and good storage qualities. It also offers unique medicinal and health benefits such as relieving irritability and thirst, cooling the body, soothing sore throats, and treating bloody dysentery. Hence, as early as the Song Dynasty, there were poetic praises for Linchuan watermelon such as “Cool as frost and snow, sweet as honey, one bite can cure lingering illness.”

　　In recent years, the watermelon industry in the district has continued to grow and strengthen. In terms of watermelon varieties, more than 20 types have been introduced, including hybrid seeded watermelons, seedless watermelons, and gift watermelons. Cultivation techniques have also been continuously improved, evolving from single open-field planting to methods such as grafted cultivation, greenhouse cultivation, and vertical farming. In terms of industry support, the district has specifically included the watermelon industry in its agricultural development assistance projects, established a Watermelon Industrialization Office, and actively nurtured civil academic groups and modern business organizations such as watermelon associations, watermelon cooperatives, and watermelon companies. This has led to the formation of a new industrialized watermelon management model of “company + base + farmer,” gradually transforming the watermelon industry from quantity-focused scale to quality- and benefit-oriented growth. In 2012, the district’s watermelon cultivation area reached 120,000 mu, with 29 varieties available. Commercial watermelon cultivation accounted for over 80% of the total area, and total output is expected to exceed 240,000 tons.