Chestnuts

Chestnuts

　　Chestnuts have long been hailed as the “King of Dried Fruits” and are known as a hardy crop that requires planting once but can yield for a hundred years. The Dandong area along the Yalu River produces over 90% of Liaoning Province’s total chestnut output. The main varieties of chestnut trees in Liaoning include the Chinese chestnut, Korean chestnut, Japanese chestnut, and European chestnut, but the Chinese chestnut is the most common, with numerous cultivated varieties such as Black Oil Skin Chestnut, Gushan Oil Chestnut, Red Oil Chestnut, Ming Chestnut, Hairy Chestnut, and Early Ripening Oil Chestnut, among others. Chestnuts are highly nutritious, rich in protein, fat, starch, and various vitamins, as well as containing carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, and ascorbic acid, among others. They can be eaten fresh, roasted, or made into a variety of delicacies. Chestnuts also serve as an effective traditional medicine, with benefits such as nourishing the stomach and spleen, tonifying the kidneys and promoting blood circulation, and strengthening the body. The wood of the chestnut tree is hard and can be used for sleepers, flooring, bridges, and other construction materials.