Beixiang Water Chestnuts

Beixiang Water Chestnuts

　　Beixiang Water Chestnuts

　　Lechang has long been known as the “Hometown of Water Chestnuts.” Water chestnuts are one of the major local specialties in Lechang, with a total planting area of over 10,000 mu and an annual yield exceeding 10,000 tons. The main production areas are Lecheng and Beixiang, while other towns such as Langtian, Henan, Changlei, and Jiufeng also grow them. Lechang water chestnuts are renowned across the province, Hong Kong, and Macau markets for their large size, tender flesh, sweet and juicy taste, …

　　With an annual yield exceeding 10,000 tons. The main production areas are Lecheng and Beixiang, while other towns such as Langtian, Henan, Changlei, and Jiufeng also grow them. Lechang water chestnuts are famous in the provincial, Hong Kong, and Macau markets for being large, tender, sweet, juicy, crisp, and virtually fiber-free. The highest-quality water chestnuts come from the 150-mu production area in Tiandong, Lecheng, with a total output of about 240 tons.

　　During the peak season at the end of winter and beginning of spring, Lechang’s water chestnut products flood the market, forming a “Water Chestnut Street” that stretches over a kilometer. Numerous out-of-town merchants flock to the area, packing the street to capacity. Aside from a small amount sold locally, most of Lechang’s water chestnuts are sold to other provinces and cities, and they enjoy a strong reputation in the Hong Kong and Macau markets as well.

　　Beixiang water chestnuts are famed in the provincial, Hong Kong, and Macau markets for being large, tender, sweet, juicy, crisp, and fiber-free. Not only are Beixiang water chestnuts highly nutritious, but they also offer significant medicinal value. Scientific analysis shows that water chestnuts contain high levels of protein, along with various nutrients such as vitamin C, calcium, iron, starch, and sugars. As early as the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen’s *Compendium of Materia Medica* recorded that water chestnuts help clear heat and toxins, promote saliva production and quench thirst, moisten the lungs and dissolve phlegm, and improve vision and reduce eye opacity.

　　Beixiang water chestnuts feature short and compact sprouts, a relatively flat base, and reddish-brown or dark reddish-brown skin. Their flesh is crisp, tender, sweet, and fiber-free, with individual fruits weighing around 25g. They are prized for their attractive color, tender texture, sweetness, and minimal fiber, along with health benefits such as promoting saliva, reducing internal heat, clearing toxins, and nourishing the body. They can be eaten as a fruit or a vegetable, used in canned goods, made into preserved snacks, and consumed either raw or cooked.

　　Beixiang water chestnuts have a planting history of several hundred years. The *Lechang County Annals*, revised in the 10th year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1871), already documented the cultivation of water chestnuts. Lechang has long enjoyed the reputation of being the “Water Chestnut Capital of China,” with those from Beixiang Town being especially prized. The superior quality of Lechang Beixiang water chestnuts is inseparable from their unique growing environment. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the area experiences large diurnal temperature variations in autumn and winter, and the soil is mainly yellow sandy loam—ideal conditions for water chestnut growth. As a result, the water chestnuts grown here are large and sweet, selling well in Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, and Fujian provinces, and exported as far as the United States, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia, making them a famous local specialty and flagship product of Lechang.

　　Currently, the planted area of Beixiang water chestnuts has expanded to 1,400 hectares, with a total output of 38,000 tons and a total output value of 88.2 million yuan. The main production areas are Beixiang Town, Lecheng Town, Langtian Town, and Changlei Town.

　　Beixiang water chestnuts are deeply loved by consumers and have garnered attention from leaders at all levels: In 1997, Beixiang Town, the main production area, was designated as a “Shaoguan High-Quality, High-Yield Water Chestnut Demonstration Zone.” In 2004, the Beixiang water chestnut planting project established a provincial-level agricultural standardization demonstration zone. In the same year, Lechang hosted its first Water Chestnut Festival and Economic & Trade Fair. In 2007, Beixiang water chestnuts became a key product under the “Famous Brand-Driven Strategy Implementation Plan for the Eleventh Five-Year Plan Period” in Shaoguan. In 2009, Beixiang water chestnuts were approved for geographical indication product protection by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China.

　　Currently, there is one main enterprise producing Beixiang water chestnuts: the Lechang Yuebao Agricultural Products Circulation Professional Cooperative. Established in 2008, the cooperative specializes in integrated industrial operations including professional planting, storage, deep processing, and circulation of premium local agricultural products such as “Beixiang Water Chestnuts,” “Lechang Fragrant Taro,” “Langtian Yam,” “Jiufeng Eagle Mouth Peaches,” and “Golden Nai Plums.” The cooperative has been honored with titles such as “National Model Farmers’ Professional Cooperative” awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture, “Provincial-Level Model Farmers’ Professional Cooperative” awarded by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture, and “Farmers’ Professional Cooperative Demonstration Unit” awarded by the Shaoguan Municipal Bureau of Agriculture.