Xixi Bamboo Shoots

Xixi Bamboo Shoots

　　Qiaotou Village, Longhua Town: "Xixi Bamboo Shoots".

　　Longmen Xixi Bamboo Shoots are a specialty from the Xixi River area in Longmen County, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province. These bamboo shoots are as thin as paper, tender, smooth, sweet, and refreshing to taste. Moreover, as they grow naturally in deep mountain forests without pollution or pesticide residues, they are rich in vitamins and amino acids, and also have anti-cancer properties. They are one of the three major local specialties of Longmen County, having gained fame both within and outside the province as early as the 1980s, and are exported to Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

　　Longmen Xixi Bamboo Shoots are produced in the upper and lower Xixi areas at the border between Zuotan Town and Longhua Town in Longmen County. They sprout from the roots of clustered Ma bamboo (also known as sweet bamboo) around the time of the Greater and Lesser Heat solar terms. Fresh shoots can be made into canned products in clear broth, but are generally processed into bamboo shoot skin and dried bamboo shoots. The characteristics of Xixi Bamboo Shoots are their thick flesh, tenderness, and refreshing taste. The county annals record: "The sweet bamboo shoots of Xixi are extraordinarily crisp and sweet. When steamed and sun-dried, they can be preserved for a long time, surpassing the five other types of bamboo shoots—big-headed bamboo, sinew bamboo, yellow bamboo, bitter bamboo, and cat bamboo." According to analysis, Xixi Bamboo Shoots contain 2–4% carbohydrates, 0.2–0.3% fat, 2.5–3% protein, as well as minerals such as phosphorus, iron, calcium, magnesium, germanium, and organosilicon, along with various vitamins.

　　The cultivation of Xixi Bamboo Shoots has a long history. Legend has it that during the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty, people in Luan'an Village of Upper Xixi had already learned how to cultivate them. Every year, about ten days before and after Qingming Festival, rhizomes from the previous year's bamboo are planted, and harvest can begin after three years. Fresh shoots are processed into bamboo shoot skin and dried shoots. The bamboo shoot skin was once listed as "tribute bamboo shoots" sent to the imperial court. Over the past century, bamboo shoot skin and dried shoots have been widely exported to Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asian countries, earning a strong reputation both domestically and abroad.

　　In the past, due to the limited availability of Xixi Bamboo Shoots plant seedlings, single cultivation techniques, and backward processing methods, yields were low. In 1980, there were only slightly over 10,000 clumps of Xixi Bamboo Shoots bamboo in the whole county. In recent years, the government has helped farmers vigorously develop Xixi Bamboo Shoots by promoting cultivation techniques such as rhizome bud burying and transplanting, and bamboo joint with branch planting. Six Xixi Bamboo Shoots production bases have been established in Zuotan and Longhua towns, and two fresh bamboo shoot processing plants have been set up. Currently, the county has 63,000 mu of bamboo shoot bamboo plantations, with an annual total output of 35,000 tons. Among these, Zuotan Town and Longhua Town have the largest planting areas (a combined 31,000 mu), followed by Wangping Town and Tiantangshan Town.

　　Xinliao Village in Longtan Town is a major production area for Xixi Bamboo Shoots, and the production and sale of Xixi Bamboo Shoots is a traditional industry in the village. Currently, the village has planted over 3,000 bamboo shoot bamboo trees, and more than 300 households are engaged in making Xixi Bamboo Shoots. From July to September each year, golden Xixi Bamboo Shoots are sun-dried on the doorsteps, rooftops, and grain-drying grounds of every household in the village, bringing in an income of around 10,000 yuan per household.

　　Fresh and dried Xixi Bamboo Shoots each have their own unique flavor: fresh shoots have tender, white, plump, and sweet-tasting flesh that is refreshing; dried shoots have a golden color and are fragrant, sweet, and smooth. Used as an ingredient with various meats, they can be steamed or stir-fried, offering an especially delicious taste that is very popular with tourists. At the same time, according to relevant sources, bamboo shoots are rich in protein, carotene, multiple vitamins, and inorganic salts such as iron, phosphorus, and magnesium, as well as various health-beneficial amino acids. They have high levels of cellulose and hemicellulose, which can reduce the body’s absorption of fat in the intestines, promote intestinal motility, stimulate the secretion of digestive glands, aid digestion and elimination, and reduce the accumulation and absorption of harmful substances in the body.