Suziyu Honey Dates

Suziyu Honey Dates

　　Suziyu Honey Dates, also known as Suziyu Jujubes, are named after their place of origin, Suziyu in Pinggu District.

Suziyu Honey Dates (on average, 50 fresh dates per jin, up to 40 per jin) feature small pits, thin skins, and thick flesh. When eaten fresh, the flesh is crisp, delicious, snappy, tender-crisp, and famously sweet. Dates have long been a beloved, nutritious delicacy among the Chinese people. There’s even an old saying: “Fresh dates are round and red, tasty, fragrant, sweet; they satisfy hunger without upsetting the stomach and leave a lasting aftertaste.” Once dried, the dates can be split open to reveal threads of flesh over a foot long that don’t break. They’re even sweeter and softer when eaten. For example, if you add two dates to a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling) during the Dragon Boat Festival, the whole thing turns red, giving it a unique flavor. They are highly nutritious. Analysis shows that fresh Suziyu Honey Dates contain 45–55% sugar, while dried ones contain over 73%. Dates are also high in calories—100g of fresh dates provide 110 kcal, and 100g of dried dates offer 349 kcal, similar to rice and flour, hence earning them the nickname “tree-grown grain.” They contain 1.3–3.6% protein, 0.3–0.5% fat, and various essential minerals like iron, phosphorus, and calcium. The dates are also rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C and P (also called rutin), with 100g of fresh fruit containing up to 500–650 mg of vitamin C and over 3000 mg of vitamin P, the highest among all fruits. Additionally, they contain various essential amino acids, earning them the title “living vitamin pills.” In 1974, they were awarded the Beijing Golden Fruit Cup Prize.

Suziyu Honey Dates have a long cultivation history, developing during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. By the Qianlong era, jujube trees had already formed dense orchards. Through selection and development, they gradually became a uniquely high-quality, distinctive local fruit product, even presented as tribute to the imperial palace, becoming a specialty supply for the royal court. After the liberation, under the leadership of the Party and government, Suziyu Honey Dates saw further development. In the 1950s, they were officially named “Suziyu Jujubes” by the Beijing Forestry Bureau and Beijing Agricultural University and were included as a jujube variety in fruit tree cultivation textbooks. By the 1960s, Suziyu Honey Dates had rapidly developed into a pillar industry for the village. At that time, the village’s 400 residents produced over 500,000 jin of dried dates annually. Every National Day, Zhongnanhai alone would harvest over 5,000 jin of crisp dates from the village for state banquets, with jujube income accounting for over 70% of the village’s total revenue. A popular local saying went: “If you want to get rich early, grow jujubes; if each person has a hundred jujube trees, there’s no worry about not getting rich.” But life is full of unexpected twists. Coupled with China’s limited scientific and technological capabilities in the 1970s, in the early 1980s, all the village’s jujube trees suddenly became diseased and died within just one or two years, causing a huge disaster for the villagers and immeasurable economic losses.

The rapid decline in the cultivation area of Suziyu Honey Dates drew serious concern from fruit tree experts. Upon hearing news that vast numbers of jujube trees were infected and nearing extinction, Researcher Zhao Yuguai from the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences specifically came to Suziyu Village to search for surviving resources. It took him a whole morning just to walk from the township to Suziyuling, then he searched tree by tree on the terraced mountain slopes until he finally found the healthiest and most robust jujube tree. Researcher Zhao said that this kind of sapling had particularly strong disease resistance—over ten years later, that very tree had never been diseased. Over the next 20 years, it was observed that the few remaining jujube trees that had survived the blight no longer suffered from the disease and could still bear fruit normally, with no decline in quality. The village reported this discovery to the district government and the fruit office, which responded with strong attention and support. The authorities urged the villagers to seize the opportunity to revive this historic, nationally renowned variety without delay. With the strong support and recognition of the villagers, the revitalization of Suziyu Jujubes was once again established as a pillar industry, with additional guidance and backing from the Dahuaishan Town Party Committee and government. By the end of 2003, the village had grown 200,000 jujube trees, averaging 250 per person, and established the Suziyu Fruit Tree Orchard, managed professionally like a business. By 2005, Suziyu Jujube production had recovered to over 200,000 jin, attracting nearly 3,000 visitors for picking, generating 200,000 yuan in picking revenue alone.

Due to its unique variety, no identical type has been found elsewhere in China—it’s no exaggeration to call it one of a kind. Suziyu Honey Date saplings don’t require grafting and naturally grow into mature jujubes. However, saplings transplanted from Suziyu Village and grown outside its soil produce completely different fruit. Suziyu Honey Dates can be eaten fresh, dried, or processed into date preserves and canned dates. Once dried, they can be stored for a year without spoiling and are easy to transport.