Huangtukan Large Apricots

Huangtukan Large Apricots

　　The Huangtukan Township in Nanpiao District, Huludao City, boasts unique microclimatic conditions ideal for the growth and development of apricot trees. With a long history of large apricot production, it has long been reputed as the “earliest and largest apricot variety beyond the Shanhai Pass.” The township currently has 650,000 fruit trees of various kinds, including 150,000 large apricot trees, yielding around 7.5 million kilograms annually. The main varieties include Yinqing, Suili Apricot, and Mazhenhe. In recent years, with the adjustment of the fruit industry structure, the proportion of new varieties such as Golden Sun, Katy, Camel Yellow, and Wheat Yellow Apricots has been steadily increasing, now forming a significant scale. Thanks to the township’s excellent natural conditions that favor apricot tree growth and its location away from urban areas—surrounded by no factories or industrial enterprises—the large apricots produced here feature golden-yellow skin with a red blush, giving them a bright and attractive color. The fruits are large with thin skins, orange-yellow flesh, juicy texture, and pleasant aroma. They are high in sugar content, ripen early—about 3–5 days ahead of other regions—and are an ideal, high-nutrition, pollution-free fruit with strong market competitiveness. Additionally, in 2001, the township pioneered facility cultivation of Katy Apricots for off-season production, bringing the harvest forward by two months. The wholesale price of these early apricots reached 20 yuan per kilogram, and they were sold to markets as far as Jilin and Heilongjiang.