Shatian pomelo

Shatian pomelo

　　Shatian pomelo is most famously produced in Shatian, Rong County, Guangxi. In the areas around Lingui County and Yangshuo County in Guilin City, the soil is fertile and well-drained, similar to that of Shatian Village in Rong County. The pomelos grown here are comparable in shape, color, aroma, and taste to those from Shatian Village, so the pomelos produced in Lingui and Yangshuo are also collectively called “Shatian pomelo.”

　　　Pomelo trees can grow over ten meters tall with lush branches and leaves. They bloom with small white flowers in spring, and frost’s descent marks the season of ripening and harvest.

　　In Guangxi, ripe Shatian pomelos are bright yellow in color, with a round coin-like ring at the bottom, commonly known as the “money mark.” The top of the fruit has a short neck, while the bottom is large and round. Each pomelo weighs between one or two jin (0.5–1 kg) and two or three jin (1–1.5 kg), and features a money-shaped mark at the base with an oily yellow rind. The flesh is sweet, juicy, crisp, and refreshing, making it a delicious fruit for autumn and winter. Thanks to its thick peel, it is easy to transport over long distances and can be stored for a long time without spoiling, earning it the reputation of being a “natural can.” The peel can be used as a vegetable or made into preserves, and it has benefits for soothing coughs and reducing phlegm.

　　Shatian pomelo is one of Guangxi’s most famous fruits. It was first cultivated over two hundred years ago in Shatian Village, Rong County, Guangxi, hence the name. Shatian pomelo enjoys the reputations of being a “natural can” and a “fruit delicacy.” As one of Guangxi’s traditional export fruits, it was shipped to Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas as early as the 1930s, demonstrating strong competitiveness in the international market. Shatian pomelo has since been cultivated in regions such as the Xunjiang, Longjiang, Guijiang, Lijiang, and Hongshui River basins in Guangxi, and has also been introduced to Guangdong, Hunan, Sichuan, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi. Currently, Guangxi has become China’s largest concentrated production area for Shatian pomelo, with tens of thousands of mu of pomelo plantations across the autonomous region. Shatian pomelo has a long history in Liuzhou and is considered one of the city’s famous local specialties for about two hundred years. It is mainly produced in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County, Liuzhou.

　　The Guilin area has become a major production region for Shatian pomelo. As a subtropical fruit, Shatian pomelo has tender and soft flesh, a sweet and fragrant taste, and is highly nutritious. Its vitamin C content is more than twenty times that of apples. The fruit is pear-shaped or heart-shaped, turning bright yellow when ripe, and typically weighs about 2 jin (1 kg). Its most distinctive feature is the neck-like stem and the coin-like ring at the bottom, known as the “money circle.” Pay close attention to this when selecting the fruit. The flesh usually consists of 12 segments, crescent-shaped and of even thickness. The fruit grows in a very unique way—hanging from slender branches, often with two or three large fruits on a single thin branch, creating a sensation of “a thousand pounds hanging by a thread,” a sight referred to as “money hanging on a hibiscus.”