Lianghu Brand Watermelons

Lianghu Brand Watermelons

　　Shixin Town in Shishou City is situated on the north bank of the Jing River in the heart of the Jianghan Plain and is one of the major land and water transportation junctions in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The town spans 94.7 square kilometers, with 40,000 mu of cultivated land and a population of 48,000. In recent years, the Shixin Town Committee and the town government have set “revitalizing the town and enriching the people” as their goal, vigorously adjusting the agricultural structure. This has led to the development of four major industries: 10,000 mu of cotton intercropped with watermelons, 10,000 mu of cotton intercropped with chili peppers, 10,000 cages for raising finless eels, and 5,000 vegetable greenhouses. These industries produce an annual output of 20,000 tons of melons, 30,000 tons of early-season chili peppers, 5,000 tons of autumn chili peppers, 6,000 tons of pointed chili peppers, and 400 tons of finless eels. The town’s melons and chili peppers are well-known across southern Hubei and northern Hunan. The “Chuhe” brand melon has been registered as a trademark, and the pollution-free agricultural product base is gradually forming part of the “Jingzhou 100,000 Mu Melon and Chili Production Base.” In 2000, the town was honored as the “No. 1 Watermelon-Producing Town in Hubei Province.”