Yunxian Citrus

Yunxian Citrus

　　Yunxian County has a history of over a thousand years in citrus cultivation. The main variety is the native herbaceous orange, which is primarily grown around homes and in front of yards. During the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, kumquats were introduced from Sichuan. Superior to the native herbaceous oranges, kumquats gradually became widespread throughout the county, emerging as a major fruit crop. These are mainly distributed along the valleys of the Han River and Du River, particularly on hillsides and ridges at elevations of 200 to 300 meters in areas such as Liubei, Wufeng, and Baoxia, with Liubei producing the most—accounting for over 60% of the county’s total yield. Kumquats in Liubei’s sandy fields grow vigorously, with large canopies, small branches, and dense fruits. A single tree can yield up to 350 kilograms. Individual fruits can weigh more than 150 grams. They bloom in early summer and ripen in November. The fruits are flat-round, bright red in color, with a soft sheen, tender flesh, juicy texture, and a fragrant, delicious taste.

In 1949, the county produced 163,000 kilograms of citrus. After successfully introducing the Wenzhou honey tangerine in 1964, citrus cultivation in Yunxian gradually evolved from scattered and garden planting to organized base development and contiguous planting. Citrus bases were successively established in areas such as Shifo Temple, Shazhou, and Xiliu in Liubei, Yuzui in Yangxi, Guipingshan in Guihua, Sunjiawan and Youfanggou in Qingqu. By 1981, the county’s citrus output reached 1.257 million kilograms, and by 1983, it had increased to 2.631 million kilograms. In 1985, 283 villages across 14 districts (towns) in the county had established citrus bases, cultivating 27,200 mu (approximately 1,813 hectares) of honey tangerines and other citrus varieties. These included five major types—loose-skinned oranges, oranges, Yichang oranges, kumquats, and trifoliate oranges—and 15 cultivars such as Wenzhou honey tangerines, pao oranges, herbaceous oranges, money oranges, milk oranges, scorched oranges, sweet oranges, mandarin oranges, peach leaf oranges, blood oranges, navel oranges, summer oranges, fragrant oranges, trifoliate orange hybrids, and kumquat hybrids.

Additionally, there are hybrid varieties such as Golden Kumquat Red (a cross between kumquats and sour oranges). Among these, Wenzhou honey tangerines are the most widely cultivated, with cultivars including Owari, Kiyomi, Miyagawa Wase, Okitsu, Seiken, Qingjiang, Huannong Bentao, Guoqing 1–5, Lin Wenlijian, Ban’ye, Ishikawa, Matsuyama, Xiangshan, Nangan, Yonezawa, Ueda, seedless red oranges, Guangming, and Hongqiao—totaling over 20 varieties. By 1989, the county’s total citrus planting area reached 48,970 mu, including 5,679 mu newly added that year, 14,025 mu bearing fruit, and a total citrus yield of 7,496 tons. In 1991, the citrus-growing area expanded to 55,280 mu, yielding 9,218 tons of citrus. In January 1992, an extreme frost disaster occurred, and by June of that year, despite a citrus area of 64,365 mu, only 134 tons of fruit were harvested. Citrus production recovered to 15,670 tons in 1993. In 1994, the county’s citrus planting area was 52,500 mu, with a total output of 1,378 tons and a total output value of 2.35 million yuan.