Donggou Green-Skinned Hanging Winter Melon

Donggou Green-Skinned Hanging Winter Melon

　　Donggou Green-Skinned Hanging Winter Melon is a specialty of Donggou Town, Liangzihu District, Ezhou City, Hubei Province.

　　Donggou Green-Skinned Hanging Winter Melon is a local variety from Ezhou City, Hubei Province, produced specifically in Donggou Town, Liangzihu District, Ezhou City. The green-skinned hanging winter melon of Donggou is an agricultural variety native to Ezhou. It was introduced by local farmers from Hunan in 1950 and has since maintained good varietal characteristics. This variety is a vining plant with strong growth vigor and palmate leaves. The green-skinned winter melon has a mild flavor and bright appearance, and offers diuretic benefits that help reduce swelling and clear heat. It also helps relieve summer heat and promotes body fluid production. This early-maturing variety produces single fruits weighing around 15 kg, with some reaching up to 40 kg. Each vine yields 2–3 melons. The melons have green skin, are oblong in shape, with a transverse diameter of 35 cm and flesh thickness of 7.5 cm. The average yield is about 60,000 kg per hectare. The fruit stores and transports well, and is of high quality—suitable for stir-frying, boiling, or making soups. Its seeds are effective in treating intestinal pain, lung pain, and painful urination; the rind can be used to treat edema. This product was exhibited at the former Echeng County Agricultural Exhibition in 1956 and was recognized as an excellent variety in the "National Vegetable Records."