Xiezi Radish

Xiezi Radish

　　Xiezi Radish is a specialty of Xiezi Village, Weizi Subdistrict, Changyi City, Weifang, Shandong Province. The green radish from Xiezi is renowned for its cool, crisp, tender texture and sweet, refreshing taste. It can be eaten raw or cooked, and also used to make fermented bean paste or pickled as a side dish.

　　Changyi produces a variety of vegetables, among which Xiezi green radish is the most famous.

　　Xiezi Village in Weizi Subdistrict is located on the eastern bank of the lower reaches of the Weihe River, where underground water is abundant and the soil quality is excellent—perfect conditions for growing green radishes. According to the *Sun Family Genealogy*, the cultivation of Xiezi green radish has a long history, spanning more than 430 years. In the third year of the Longqing era during the Ming Dynasty, the Weihe River burst its banks, destroying the houses and property of Sun Qian and Sun Rang, the fifth-generation descendants of the Sun family in Xiezi Village. As a result, the brothers planted some green radishes on a highland east of the village in early autumn. The radishes were lush green with verdant leaves, and their roots were crisp and sweet. After harvesting in autumn, they helped the family survive the famine. From then on, the planting continued year after year, with an increasing number of households joining in. During the 1960s, when China faced three consecutive years of natural disasters, Xiezi radishes once again helped people get through the hard times. A popular rhyme at the time went: “Xiezi radish is a treasure, take a few to Qingdao. Get a haircut, take a bath, and you’ll still have fare left for the ride home.”

　　In recent years, Xiezi Village has introduced superior varieties, adopted scientific farming techniques, and improved management practices, leading to new developments in green radish production. With over a thousand households in the village, each now grows an average of more than one mu, and yields have increased from two to three thousand kilograms in the past to five to six thousand kilograms.

　　Xiezi green radish is renowned for its cool, crisp, tender texture and sweet, refreshing taste. It can be eaten raw or cooked, and also used to make fermented bean paste or pickled as a side dish. From around the Beginning of Winter to the Qingming Festival the following year, green radishes become an indispensable delicacy in people’s lives. Before the 1970s, when fruits were not yet widely available, green radishes were in high demand during market fairs and festive seasons. At that time, Xiezi locals carried the radishes to market on shoulder poles, donkeys, or small wooden carts, selling them in places like Laizhou, Pingdu, Gaomi, and Weixian. They used the “flower-cutting” method to attract customers to sample and admire the radishes, which became very popular. Even today, when various fruits are readily available, Xiezi radishes remain a premium choice for hotels and inns to serve guests during winter and spring. As the saying goes humorously: “Feicheng peaches and Laiyang pears can’t compare to the skin of Xiezi radish.”

　　Xiezi radish is rich in nutrition, versatile in use, and has high medicinal value. According to texts such as *Compendium of Materia Medica*, it contains large amounts of carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and more, all of which are highly beneficial to the human body. In addition to helping prevent and treat colds, regulate qi, stimulate appetite, and aid digestion, green radish can also treat tonsillitis, asthma, excessive phlegm, high blood pressure, dizziness, migraines, oral ulcers, sore throat, coughing up blood, and chilblains. Folk sayings such as “Eat radish in spring and ginger in summer, and you’ll need no doctor’s prescription” reflect the important medicinal value and health benefits of green radish. In 1998, Xiezi green radish was granted patent trademark rights by the municipal industry and commerce authorities after evaluation.

　　Nowadays, around the Beginning of Winter, carts and vehicles carry Xiezi radishes from the fields of Xiezi Village and surrounding villages to cities such as Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai, Weifang, and the Shengli Oilfield. The people of Xiezi have also imbued green radish with rich cultural meaning, treating it as an auspicious gift to give to urban and rural kin, friends, and guests—wishing them longevity, a bountiful harvest, and hoping for “evergreen seasons” and prosperity year after year.