Gaolan Soft Pear

Gaolan Soft Pear

The Gaolan Soft Pear is a product certified with a Geographical Indication for Agricultural Products.

　　The Soft Pear, also called Hua Xin or Xiang Shui, is a much-loved pear variety during the deep winter. With its refreshing fragrance, sweet taste, cool sensation, and pleasant mouthfeel, just one bite refreshes the spirit and brings immense satisfaction.

　　The Gaolan Soft Pear, also known as Hua Xin or Xiang Shui, is a cherished winter pear. Its fragrant, sweet, cool, and refreshing qualities offer an instant mood lift. No wonder the veteran statesman Yu Youren once compared it to grapes, saying, “Don’t say grapes are the sweetest; in ice and snow, the Soft Pear reigns.” Most interestingly, the Gaolan Soft Pear has a unique way of being enjoyed — it is stored until winter when it turns into a “brown egg,” reaching peak flavor.

　　The cultivation of Gaolan Soft Pears has a long history. In the 18th year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1892), the “Revised Gazetteer of Gaolan County” compiled by Zhang Guochang recorded: “The Xiang Shui Pear, commonly called Soft Pear, is yellowish-green in autumn with a slightly sour taste. When stored until late winter or early spring, it softens and turns black, its flesh becoming pulp-like and as sweet as honey.” The origin of the Gaolan Soft Pear lies between longitude 103°32′ to 104°22′ east and latitude 36°05′ to 36°50′ north. It is mainly produced in Shichuan Town, known as the “World’s Oldest Pear Orchard,” as well as in Xicha Town, Heishichuan Township, Shuifu Township, Zhonghe Town, and Jiuhe Town. Shichuan Town, with an altitude of just over 1,400 meters, enjoys a pleasant climate and fertile soil. Pear cultivation began here as early as the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Large-scale planting started during the Kangxi era, and now there are nearly 5,000 acres of pear orchards, including more than 7,000 Soft Pear trees. The Gaolan Soft Pear tree belongs to the Rosaceae family, Pyrus ussuriensis species. These trees are robust, grow quickly, bear fruit early, live long, resist cold and drought, tolerate poor soils, and are highly adaptable. They produce abundant, high-quality fruit. Notably, the older the tree, the finer the flesh, the thinner the skin, and the better the quality. Some 300-year-old pear trees in Shichuan still bloom and bear fruit, yielding 200–400 kilograms annually. At peak production, a single Soft Pear tree can yield up to 800 kilograms, averaging 250 kilograms, with total annual production of over one million kilograms.

　　The Gaolan Soft Pear is nearly round in shape, with an average weight of around 125 grams, ripening in late autumn to early winter. When first picked, its color is yellowish-green with hints of red, the flesh is firm and slightly sour. If the fresh pears are warmed with wheat straw for over ten days, they turn light yellow, becoming tender-skinned, soft, and pleasantly sweet and sour. The undamaged pears are then selected and stored in cellars or on wooden racks indoors. After about 40 days, the flesh ferments and softens, the skin turns brown and becomes rough-textured, and the flavor turns sweeter — this stage is called “Hua Xin” or “sugar core.” If stored until February or March of the following year, the taste becomes even better. As temperatures drop further, the fruit freezes solid like stone. Eating it too quickly without thawing fails to melt it properly, and applying heat makes it sour, losing its original flavor. It needs to be left to thaw naturally in a warm place or soaked in icy water for about ten minutes. Once the ice shell on the surface forms, remove it, and the pear will be soft as mud, juice-filled, and taste sweeter than honey with a wine-like flavor. To eat, tear the skin and suck — a burst of sweet, honey-like juice fills the mouth. It feels sweet, cool, and incredibly fragrant, soothing the lungs and leaving a long-lasting aftertaste. As the saying goes, “Thin-skinned, juice-packed, soft as mud inside” — hence the name “Xiang Shui Pear” or Perfume Pear. Mr. Yu Youren once wrote a poem: “In ice and snow, the Soft Pear stands, the strangest fruit in town. Though red with beauty on the tree, none pick it — its fragrance awaits turning to mud.” Folk tales even elevate the Gaolan Soft Pear to the status of “a heavenly immortal flavor, an earthly elixir,” almost deeming it a celestial fruit.

　　The Gaolan Soft Pear is not only uniquely delicious but also rich in nutrients. It contains fruit acids, malic acid, citric acid, sucrose, glucose, and other components, with soluble solids generally around 13%, making it highly nutritious. Li Shizhen in the “Compendium of Materia Medica” noted that the Soft Pear can moisten the lungs, cool the heart, reduce phlegm, lower internal heat, and detoxify from alcohol and sores. If you feel unwell after eating greasy food, suffer from a hangover with dizziness, have a fever or headache, cough with dry mouth, feel generally miserable, or experience gas poisoning with dizziness and nausea — eating a few Gaolan Soft Pears or drinking some of their juice can significantly alleviate discomfort.

　　The Gaolan Soft Pear has a long cultivation history and is a signature agricultural product of the county. Over time, the people of Shichuan have developed considerable expertise in pear tree care, combining traditional methods such as bark scraping and “sand mulching for pest control” with modern, practical science, along with unique grafting and pruning techniques, keeping the trees youthful. On December 24, 2012, Shichuan Town was awarded the title of “National Ecological Township” by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment; on April 12, 2013, the Shichuan Ancient Pear Orchard was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the “World’s Oldest Pear Orchard”; and on May 21, 2013, it was designated by the Ministry of Agriculture as one of China’s “First Batch of Important Agricultural Cultural Heritages.” The Gaolan County government established the World’s Oldest Pear Orchard Protection Bureau, revised the “Regulations on Protecting Shichuan’s Ancient Pear Trees,” and completed the documentation and labeling of all 9,082 existing century-old pear trees — one card per tree for tracked management. Techniques for pear tree maintenance and pest control have been promoted, and human-caused damage to ancient pear trees is promptly investigated and strictly punished. The Pear Blossom Valley project has been implemented, with large-scale planting of Gaolan Soft Pears. A cooperative specializing in Gaolan Soft Pears has been formed to oversee their cultivation, care, processing, and sales.

　　Gaolan Soft Pear

　　Cultivation (Fruit)

　　Region

　　Gaolan is located in central Gansu, in the northern suburbs of Lanzhou City, between latitude 36°05′ to 36°50′ north and longitude 103°32′ to 104°22′ east, covering a total area of 2,556 square kilometers with a population of 168,300, of which 150,100 are agricultural, accounting for 93% of the total. The terrain features alternating mountains and valleys, sloping from northwest to southeast, with an average altitude of about 1,700 meters. The main growing areas for Gaolan Soft Pears are distributed across Shichuan Town, Shidong Town, Zhonghe Town, Jiuhe Town, Shuifu Township, and Heishichuan Township in Gaolan County, with an annual planting area of 750 hectares and an annual output of 33,750 tons.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　1. External Sensory Features: The “Gaolan Soft Pear” is nearly round, with individual diameters of 4–7 cm and weights between 100–200 grams. It ripens in late autumn to early winter. When first harvested, the skin is yellowish-green with hints of red, giving it an attractive appearance, while the flesh is firm and slightly sour. After about 40 days of natural ripening, the skin turns yellow, the flesh softens, and the taste becomes sweet, known as the “Sugar Core Pear.” As the weather gets colder, the fruit freezes solid, the skin turns from yellow to brown, and the flesh becomes grainy — this stage is called the “Soft Pear.” For consumption, it should be left to thaw naturally in a warm place. The pear becomes soft as mud, juice-filled, sweet like honey with a slight wine flavor. 2. Unique Internal Quality Indicators: The “Gaolan Soft Pear” contains 18 amino acids and 24 trace elements. Its internal quality indicators are: total sugar 6.4–6.60g/100g; total acid (calculated as malic acid) 0.15–0.30g/100g; soluble solids 9.4–9.7%; protein 0.41–0.44g/100g; fat 0.46–0.49g/100g; crude fiber 3.3–3.6g/100g; alcohol content 0.053–0.057g/100g; procyanidins 0.026–0.029g/100g; iron 0.12–0.15mg/100g. Li Shizhen in the “Compendium of Materia Medica” stated that the Soft Pear can moisten the lungs, cool the heart, eliminate phlegm, reduce internal heat, and detoxify alcohol. 3. Safety Requirements: The growing environment and product quality of the Gaolan Soft Pear meet national standards for pollution-free food.