Hekou Philippine Mangoes

Hekou Philippine Mangoes

　　Hekou Town is famous for its mango production. Of the 8,000 mango trees in the entire county, about 7,000 are located in Hekou. Locally, they are commonly referred to as Hekou Philippine fragrant mangoes.

　　 The production of mangoes in Hekou has a history of over 150 years. According to the 1830 *Xinning County Annals* (compiled under the direction of Zhu Yuzong and edited by Zhou Zhongyun), under the section “Fruits” in the “Products” chapter, it is recorded: “Mango trees are tall with abundant flowers; their fruits are yellow, with a sweet-sour taste.” There are no written records prior to this. By the 26th year of the Republic of China (1937), the *Xinning County Annals* compiled under the direction of Gui Dian, also under the “Fruits” section in “Products,” noted: “Mango... also called ‘wang,’ refers to the honey mango. The tree grows several zhang tall, with extremely prolific blossoms that bees are drawn to, hence the name. Unripe green-skinned mangoes can be salted, dried, and used to quench thirst and prevent seasickness.”

　　 Philippine mangoes were first introduced to Hekou County in 1931. That year, Xie Guisheng from Foziba Village in Hekou purchased two grafted Philippine mango seedlings for five silver dollars through his colleague Lu Zhuoyuan from Lingnan University, then transported them back to his orchard in Foziba Village for planting. The following year, Xie used budding techniques to graft multiple Philippine mango trees, with two surviving— one planted in his silkworm shed orchard and the other given to Zeng Nai Zhen from Jiancheng. In the hall of his self-established “Gui Ting Horticultural Garden,” Xie composed a couplet himself: Raising pigs, there’s no king; Growing fruit, we seek the finest breeds.

　　 　　The orchard not only had Philippine fragrant mangoes, but also Guiwei lychees, Shixia longans, Sihui oranges, Huadi starfruit, white sugar wampees, rouge pomegranates, Shatian pomelos, and purple grapes—among many other premium fruit trees. It is said that Xie cherished his three Philippine mango trees the most. In addition to personally overseeing their planting, he assigned two full-time farmhands to care for them.

　　 In 1936, the three Philippine mango trees began to bloom for the first time, but all flowers were removed to prevent fruiting. In 1937, they bore fruit for the first time, which was given to relatives and friends to taste. In 1940, a total of 350 mangoes were harvested. It is said that the largest one weighed up to 1 jin and 2 liang (using the local market jin), measuring 7.5 inches in length. In 1946, the total yield reached 1,500 catties. The Philippine mango has its own distinctive characteristics: the fruit is long and slightly curved, the pit is thin, long, and flat, the peel is thin and easy to remove, the flesh is thick, with little fiber, juicy and richly aromatic, without any sour or astringent taste. It became very popular among locals. Currently, these three mango trees are still thriving—two stand nine meters tall, and one reaches ten meters. Their diameters at breast height are 90 cm, 110 cm, and 76 cm respectively, covering areas of 0.8 mu, 0.4 mu, and 0.5 mu.

　　 After 1949, approximately 130 second-generation Philippine mango trees were cultivated from seeds of the original trees, with 102 of them planted among various households and at the Hekou Elite Breeders’ Farm.