Wangcang Chestnuts

Wangcang Chestnuts

　　Wangcang chestnuts are produced in Wangcang County, Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province, and are a traditional specialty agricultural product of the county with a cultivation history of over 2,200 years. The chestnuts are delicately shaped, reddish-brown in color, and covered with a thin, shiny wax layer; their kernels are light yellow, with easily removable inner skins, tender and glutinous flesh that is sweet and fragrant, and are highly nutritious.

　　Wangcang chestnuts are attractively shaped with small bases; the fruits are well-formed and uniform, averaging 110–130 nuts per kilogram, with larger ones reaching 79 per kilogram. Their color is a vibrant reddish-brown with a glossy sheen and a thin wax layer. The shells are thin, making them harder than chestnuts from other regions, and the kernels are light yellow, easy to peel, and do not stick to the inner skin. Scientific analysis shows that Wangcang chestnut kernels contain less than 51% moisture, about 4.2% protein, over 39% carbohydrates, more than 2.9% dietary fiber, over 41 mg/kg of vitamin E, over 149 mg/kg of calcium, over 4.6 mg/kg of iron, and over 238 mg/kg of vitamin C. They also contain abundant carotene as well as a variety of beneficial trace elements and amino acids. Most key nutritional indicators rank among the highest for chestnuts across China.

　　In 1955, Wangcang chestnut cultivation expanded to 70,000 mu, yielding 3.15 million kilograms of chestnuts—nearly 1.3 times the output of 1949. In the early 1960s, the county accelerated the development of chestnut bases. By 1965, the area under cultivation reached 100,000 mu with 1.3 million trees, producing 6 million kilograms of chestnuts—three times the output of 1949. After 1978, various forms of forest and fruit production responsibility systems were implemented in the county, greatly boosting farmers’ enthusiasm for growing Wangcang chestnuts. In August 1980, the Sichuan Provincial People’s Government designated Wangcang County as a “Chestnut Production Base County.” The county progressively developed chestnut-focused forestry and fruit production, and pioneered the “mountain-encircling rotation” development model. A series of trials, demonstrations, and promotions—including seed selection, cultivation, grafting, pruning, pest control, low-yield orchard renovation, boron spraying during the flowering period, and integrated high-yield techniques—were conducted at the Wangcang chestnut base, leading to a qualitative leap in production. Wangcang became one of the country’s major chestnut production base counties. In May 1996, the Ministry of Forestry recognized Wangcang County as a “High-Quality Chestnut Base Demonstration County.” In 1999, Wangcang was officially named the “Hometown of Chinese Chestnuts” by the Organizing Committee of the Chinese Specialties Naming Campaign. By 2011, the total cultivated area of chestnuts in the county had reached 200,000 mu, with output value exceeding 100 million yuan. In 2016, the total cultivation area grew to 300,000 mu, with output value surpassing 300 million yuan.