Yanhean Goutou Jujube

Yanhean Goutou Jujube

　　Yanhean Goutou Jujube is a specialty of Yanhean County, Yan'an City, Shaanxi Province. It is one of the province's renowned fruit products, with the highest quality produced in Zhuangtou Village and surrounding villages in Yanshui Pass Town.

　　The Yanhean Goutou Jujube was optimized and developed by the Northwest A&F University and the Yanhean County Jujube Industry Bureau from the local "Goutou Jujube" (or Gounao Jujube) variety in Zhuangtou Village, Yanhean County. It was officially approved and named in December 2001 by the Shaanxi Provincial Committee for the Examination and Approval of Fine Tree Varieties.

　　The Yanhean Goutou Jujube features large fruits that are broadly obovate in shape, with a vertical diameter of 4.5 cm and a horizontal diameter of 3 cm. The average weight per fruit is 18.55 grams, reaching up to 23 grams. The fruit is round and blunt at the top, slightly indented at the apex, narrowing toward the upper part while having a broad base shoulder, resembling a dog’s head — hence the name. The skin is moderately thick, dark purplish-red in color, with small but numerous and noticeable lenticels. The flesh is thick and the pit is small, yielding juicy, sweet flesh. Fresh jujubes contain 28% sugar, while dried ones contain 79.4% sugar and 0.42% acid. The quality is excellent, making them ideal for fresh consumption or drying. In 1982, Kim Il-sung, Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, visited Xi'an and highly praised the jujube after tasting it. The following spring, Yanhean supplied 300 Goutou Jujube saplings to North Korea. In 1996, it won a gold award in the Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Department's Red Date Evaluation. In 2005, it received the Special Jizi Golden Statue Award at the 12th Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair.