Dark Water Tobacco Shreds

Dark Water Tobacco Shreds

　　Dark Water Tobacco Shreds

　　Dark Water boasts a long history, rich cultural heritage, and abundant local produce. Thanks to its favorable climate and unique soil composition, it is not only renowned for its world-famous roses and delicious fruits, but also produces distinctive tobacco shreds.

　　During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, large areas in Dark Water were already planted with tobacco leaves. In the mid-to-late 1930s, the tobacco shreds produced here gained widespread fame. The main ingredient in making tobacco shreds is tobacco leaves. These leaves are divided into three types: green tobacco leaves, yellow tobacco leaves, and soft tobacco leaves. Green tobacco leaves are used to make green tobacco, while yellow ones are for yellow tobacco. The tobacco leaves from Dark Water are characterized by their thick, plump texture and vibrant green color. The process of making tobacco shreds begins with selecting top-quality green tobacco leaves, removing the stems, lightly spraying them with water, then air-drying them. Next, ingredients such as refined oil, medicinal herbs, salt, turmeric, and gypsum powder are added, stirred well, and mixed evenly. The mixture is then pressed into bundles about one meter square. After some time, fine shreds are planed off using a specific tool, placed into special molds, and compressed into small blocks. Finally, they are packaged for sale. These tobacco shreds were highly favored by water pipe tobacco factories in Lanzhou. Factories along China’s southeast coast also eagerly purchased them. When freshly made, the shreds are green, but upon reaching the humid southeast, they turn white and are called “white strips,” also known as “silver shreds.” They enjoyed a high reputation in the southeast. At that time, there were many water pipe workshops in Dark Water. On average, each workshop produced about 40,000 to 50,000 jin (20,000–25,000 kg) per year. Due to strong sales and significant economic value, this spurred the large-scale cultivation of green tobacco in Dark Water. The yield per mu (about 0.067 hectares) was around 300 jin, equivalent in value to two mu of wheat. Workshop artisans, working half a year, could earn wages sufficient to buy about 3,000 jin of wheat. This high motivation among artisans and tobacco growers helped drive the local economy.

　　In the late 1970s, with fewer people smoking water pipes, the market for water pipe tobacco declined, leading to a reduction in planting area and a sharp drop in production. Today, a small number of smokers in Dark Water still cultivate tobacco leaves on a small scale.