Qianxi Jingtong Chestnuts

Qianxi chestnuts are produced in Qianxi County, Tangshan City, Hebei Province, and are a renowned specialty agricultural product of the province. Qianxi Jingtong chestnuts hold a geographical indication certification trademark. Qianxi chestnuts generally ripen in September, but the exact timing varies by variety. For example, the Yanshan Zaofeng variety usually ripens in early September, Yanshan Kuili in late September, Yanshan Duanzhi in mid-September, and Daban Hong also in mid-September.

　　    Qianxi County is one of the main production areas of "Jingtong Chestnuts." The primary producing regions of Qianxi chestnuts include Han'ezhuang, Qingshanguan, Xifengkou, and Yangjiayu, which account for 60% of Qianxi's total chestnut output and are located within 15 kilometers south of the Great Wall.

　　    Jingtong chestnuts are famous for their bright color, high sugar content, sweet aroma, and rich nutrition, enjoying a long-standing reputation in both domestic and international markets. They are mainly distributed across the vast Yanshan mountainous region east of Beijing, with the highest yields found in Qianxi, Zunhua, Changli, and Xinglong. The chestnut tree is one of the earliest cultivated fruit trees in China, known as one of the “Five Fruits” along with peach, apricot, plum, and jujube.

　　  As early as the 19th century, Jingtong chestnuts were exported to Japan. Today, there are nearly ten thousand stores selling Jingtong chestnuts across Japan. Jingtong chestnuts are highly nutritious. According to analysis, their kernels contain protein, fat, starch, sugar, and various vitamins. Li Shizhen, a medical scientist of the Ming Dynasty, noted in his renowned medical text Compendium of Materia Medica that eating chestnuts can benefit qi and blood, nourish the stomach, tonify kidneys, and strengthen the liver and spleen; eating them raw can also relieve soreness in the lower back and legs and promote circulation. There are many ways to eat chestnuts, including raw, boiled, or processed into products such as canned chestnut chicken, chestnut soup, chocolate, milk substitute powder, chestnut preserves, and as fillings for various pastries. In the province, the most common preparation is candied roasted chestnuts. These have a fragrant aroma and sweet taste. Containing a large amount of soluble sugar that is easily absorbed by the body, they are a traditional fruit suitable for all ages. During the Qing Dynasty, candied roasted chestnuts in the Beijing area were called "Guangxiangtang."

　　  Currently, ripe Jingtong chestnuts are still celebrated in poetry from the Beijing region: “Pile sand in a dish, roast till deep yellow; guests arrive and chat, asking for wine to taste. By midnight lamp’s dim glow, they cry out loud—‘Guangxiangtang’ before the door.” Jingtong chestnuts are an important woody grain food, often hailed as the “King of Dried Fruits.” They are also regarded as a “sturdy crop” that yields harvests for a hundred years after a single planting. Jingtong chestnuts lead the nation in terms of yield, quality, and export volume.