Jiayuguan Yemawan Watermelon

Jiayuguan Yemawan Watermelon

Jiayuguan Yemawan Watermelon is a geographically indicated agricultural product.

　　Jiayuguan — the western starting point of the Ming Dynasty’s Great Wall, is known as the “First and Greatest Pass under Heaven” and the “Lock of the Frontier.” The region benefits from abundant light and heat resources, along with significant day-night temperature differences, which help accumulate nutrients and sugars in fruits. Irrigated with the pure meltwater from the Qilian Mountains, the watermelons produced here are attractively shaped, have bright red flesh, and offer a soft, sweet, and refreshing taste, along with a sandy texture that is both juicy and cool. They are high in sugar content, have thin and crispy rinds, excellent quality, uniform weight per fruit, and are highly resistant to storage and transport. With a high commercial rate and large yield, these watermelons are well-known locally and highly favored by consumers. Yemawan Village in Xincheng Town, Jiayuguan City, has over 30 years of history in watermelon cultivation and has accumulated advanced techniques and rich experience. The main varieties grown are Jingxin and Chaotian Jingxin. In recent years, through improvements in cultivation methods—from traditional open-field ridge planting to innovations such as one-sand, one-sand-one-film, one-sand-two-film, and triple-film coverage—as well as varietal upgrades, both yield and quality have significantly improved. The harvest season has also been advanced by one month. From June to September each year, consumers can enjoy sweet and delicious open-field cultivated “Jiayuguan Yemawan Watermelons.” The product has successively received provincial-level pollution-free origin certification, Ministry of Agriculture pollution-free product certification, and Ministry of Agriculture geographical indication registration.

　　Geographic Scope

　　The planting area of Jiayuguan Yemawan Watermelon is mainly located northeast of Jiayuguan City, about 30 kilometers from the city center. It lies on the western edge of the Jiuquan Basin, where the Heishan Mountain to the northwest and the Biegai Mountain of the Wenshu Mountain Range to the southwest form a valley entrance. Its coordinates span longitude 98°4′ to 98°36′ and latitude 39°38′ to 40°38′, with an elevation of 1412 to 1474 meters. The terrain slopes from southwest to northeast, with a natural gradient of 12.5‰. It borders the key Hexi city of Jiuquan to the east, the perennially snow-capped Qilian Mountains to the south, Jinta County to the north, and Yumen City to the west. Xincheng Town administers seven villages: Henggou, Yemawan, Great Wall, Xincheng, Zhonggou, Guanpu, and Nigou, with relatively concentrated distribution. Although watermelons are grown across all villages in Xincheng Town, they are primarily cultivated in five villages radiating from Yemawan Village, including Great Wall Village, Xincheng Village, and Zhonggou Village, which are known for their unique quality. These five villages comprise 38 villager groups, with 2,937 farming households, a total population of 11,476, and cultivated land covering 2,733 hectares. Of this, 800 hectares are used for watermelon farming, yielding 62,000 tons — approximately one-third of the arable land. In 2009, the per capita annual income was 6,957 yuan, of which 3,356 yuan came from watermelon production. This has made watermelon cultivation a major pillar industry for increasing farmers’ income in Xincheng Town, especially in Yemawan Village, which has become widely known as a “Specialized Watermelon Planting Village.”

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　1. External Sensory Features: Fruits range between 25–40 cm in maximum diameter, are round or nearly round in shape, and average 4–5 kg per fruit. The rind is glossy and oily. The texture is soft and sweet, with sandy, refreshing flesh, bright red color (over 98% coloring), high yield, excellent quality, and mostly marketable fruit free from pesticide damage, bruises, or pests. 2. Internal Quality Indicators: Fresh watermelons contain 95–97 grams of sugar per kilogram, vitamin C at 33–49 mg, vitamin B1 at 0.16–0.2 mg, vitamin B2 at 0.18–0.25 mg, moisture content of 87–89.7%, and soluble solids of 10–12%. 3. Safety Requirements: Jiayuguan watermelon products meet the agricultural industry standard NY5223-2004 “Pollution-Free Food — Watermelon,” with the growing environment conforming to NY5010-2002 “Pollution-Free Food — Vegetable Growing Environment Conditions.” Production processes and processing controls follow the “Jiayuguan Pollution-Free Food — Watermelon Production Technical Regulations DB62/T1392—2006.” Agricultural inputs are used rationally, and highly or extremely toxic pesticides are strictly prohibited.