Shuiquan Fire Cherries

Shuiquan Fire Cherries

　　Shuiquan Town in Shanting District, Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province, is a purely mountainous area and the birthplace of Chinese cherries, with a cultivation history of over 3,000 years. The town covers a total area of 107.6 square kilometers, governs 36 administrative villages, and has a population of 50,000. With 118,000 mu of forest and fruit orchards, it is the only “grain-free town” in Zaozhuang City. It has been recognized as a “National Environmentally Beautiful Town” and one of the first “Provincial-Level Environmentally Beautiful Towns” in Shandong Province. The cherry blossom basin in Shuiquan Town has been listed as the sixth batch of “National First-Class National Standardization Demonstration Zones” and a “National Introduction of Foreign Intelligence Demonstration Zone.” Additionally, in 2010, the town was awarded the title of “National Standardized Production Demonstration Base for Green Food Raw Materials (Fire Cherries),” and in 2011, it was designated as one of the first “One Village One Product Demonstration Towns” in China.

　　　　The Shanting District fire cherry is cultivated by grafting high-quality foreign large cherries onto local cherry rootstocks and has been certified with a national geographical trademark. Currently, the planting area of Shanting District fire cherries reaches 120,000 mu, with 100,000 mu concentrated around Shuiquan Town, accounting for 90% of the town’s total forest and fruit orchard area. Shuiquan Town actively explores and promotes facility cultivation techniques for both Chinese cherries and fire cherries. To date, it has developed 3,000 greenhouses for Chinese cherries, yielding over 900,000 kilograms with an output value exceeding 60 million yuan. By increasing technological input and scientifically controlling greenhouse temperatures, the experimental fire cherry anti-season greenhouses have overcome the technical challenge of pre-Spring Festival market availability. The 100 anti-season fire cherry greenhouses generate an output value of over 1.2 million yuan.