Guanxian Cucumber

Guanxian Cucumber

　　Guanxian Cucumber is a specialty of Xiadian Township, Guanxian County, Liaocheng City, Shandong Province. Guanxian is known as the "Hometown of Chinese Cucumbers." The "Guan" brand cucumber has been awarded national-level "Green Food" certification.

　　Guanxian has fertile land and a suitable climate, with good production conditions that support the development of high-quality and efficient agriculture. This has led to the formation of four major pillar industries: forestry and fruit, animal husbandry, vegetables, and oil crops.

　　Xiadian Township currently has a population of 34,000 and 54,000 mu of arable land. It is located at the junction of two provinces (Shandong and Hebei) and three counties (Guanxian, Shenxian, and Daming). The Beijing-Kaifeng Highway and Guanban Highway run through the area, providing very convenient transportation. Vegetable production is the largest and most dominant industry. Vegetable greenhouses are spread out in vast contiguous areas, numbering in the tens of thousands, yielding 200 million kilograms of various vegetables annually and generating an output value of 180 million yuan. Major varieties include cucumbers, eight-inch melons, Imperial Jade cucumbers, Yidu red chili peppers, colorful peppers, cherry tomatoes, Fule melons, Green Dragon yardlong beans, Japanese long eggplants, American beefheart eggplants, and more than 60 other types. These have been certified as pollution-free products by the provincial Department of Agriculture, and the cucumbers carry the registered trademark "Guan Brand." To promote advanced technologies in pollution-free and standardized vegetable management, a high-tech agricultural demonstration park integrating seedling cultivation, demonstration, and the promotion of superior seeds was established in 2004. Covering an area of 240 mu, the first phase of the project involved an investment of 3 million yuan, and 15 high-standard winter-warm sixth-generation demonstration greenhouses have been put into operation with successful results. A modern high-intelligence industrial seedling greenhouse covering 3,000 square meters, invested in by Beijing Enxin Company with 1.5 million yuan, has been completed. This seedling greenhouse can produce 2.25 million seedlings in a single batch. There are currently three vegetable wholesale markets. The Qianshezhuang market reaches a peak daily trading volume of 1.2 million kilograms and was rated as a provincial-level standardized and civilized market in 2000. Pollution-free and green vegetables are sold to over twenty provinces and cities including Urumqi, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, earning the title of "Hometown of Chinese Cucumbers."