Tinglin Snow Melon

Tinglin Snow Melon

Tinglin Snow Melon is a product with a geographical indication for agricultural products.

　　Tinglin Snow Melon is a specialty of Jinshan District in Shanghai.

　　Tinglin Snow Melon is a rare local variety of sweet melon grown in the areas around Tinglin and Zhuhang in Jinshan, Shanghai, and is also one of the Four Famous Melons of Shanghai. The Tinglin Snow Melon has an inverted oval shape, with a relatively large blossom end and a protruding "belly button." Its rind is snow-white with ten vertical ridges. The flesh is crisp, tender, and sweet, making it a premium-quality melon among its kind. It has over eighty years of cultivation history in Tinglin Town. In an era when growing multiple grain crops was considered honorable, planting fruits and vegetables in the fields was not allowed. Farm women would plant a few Snow Melon seedlings in their yards or along the edges of their homes, watching them sprawl freely along the field ridges. By midsummer, the snow-white melons would begin to peek out from the green leaves. Once the fuzz faded and the rind turned smooth, they were ready to be picked and eaten. With their juicy, sweet, and crisp flesh, the Snow Melons were the best way for both adults and children to beat the heat at the time. In recent years, after cultivation trials and market introduction in Tinglin, the melon has gained high recognition and influence in the market due to its excellent quality and delicious taste.

　　Tinglin Snow Melon is a rare local variety of sweet melon grown in the areas around Tinglin and Zhuhang in Jinshan, Shanghai, and is also one of the Four Famous Melons of Shanghai. It is known for its tender, crisp texture and sweet, refreshing flavor, making it an ideal variety for developing “famous, special, and high-quality” agriculture. The melon has an inverted oval shape, with a relatively large blossom end and a protruding "belly button." Its rind is snow-white with ten vertical ridges. The flesh is crisp, tender, and sweet, with a sugar content of around 14%, making it a premium-quality melon among its kind.

　　Regional Scope

　　Jinshan District is located between 121°00′ and 121°25′ east longitude and 30°40′ and 30°58′ north latitude, on the southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta in the southwestern part of Shanghai. It borders Fengxian District to the east, Pinghu City and Jiashan County of Zhejiang Province to the west, Hangzhou Bay to the south, and Songjiang District and Qingpu District to the north. The district spans 44 kilometers from east to west and 26 kilometers from north to south, covering a total area of 586.05 square kilometers. It administers nine towns, one subdistrict, and the administratively functional Jinshan Industrial Zone. The geographical indication protection area for the Tinglin Snow Melon agricultural product covers the entire administrative region of Jinshan District, with Tinglin Town as the core production area. This includes the current administrative regions of Fengjing Town, Zhujing Town, Lvxiang Town, Langxia Town, Zhangyan Town, Jinshanwei Town, Shanyang Town, Caojing Town, and the Jinshan Industrial Zone. The entire administrative area of Jinshan District is under protection, with a total production area of 2,000 hectares and a current yield of 100,000 tons.