Yongxiang Gongrui Yangmei

Yongxiang Gongrui Yangmei

　　Yongxiang Gongrui Yangmei is a specialty of Jiangnan Subdistrict, Yongkang City, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province. Gongrui Yangmei has been a tribute to the imperial court since the Southern Song Dynasty. There are nearly 10 varieties of Yongxiang Gongrui Yangmei, among which the dominant variety—Water Chestnut Yangmei—accounts for over 70%.

　　Gongruixia Village in Jiangnan Subdistrict is located in the southwestern mountainous area of Yongkang City and is the original production site of the high-quality purple Yangmei in Yongkang. Along the over one-and-a-half-kilometer-long Dakeng Valley, Yangmei trees are planted on the foothills, mid-slopes, and hilltops, covering an area of more than 3,000 mu. With a long planting history, they are known as “Gongruixia Yangmei” and are renowned as top-quality Yangmei.

　　Every midsummer, Yangmei fruits hang abundantly on the branches, resembling glowing stars. Being there makes one feel as if “their mouth waters before even tasting.” Hence, the Yongkang Local Scenery Ode praises it with the line, “Gongrui Yangmei looks like clusters of crimson jade on the branches,” and locals say, “Gongrui Yangmei is so delicious you’d swallow the pits.”

　　To promote the “Gongrui Yangmei” brand, develop the mountainous region’s distinctive economy, and increase income and efficiency for local fruit farmers, the Yongkang Municipal Government began hosting the “Gongrui Yangmei Festival” every midsummer during the Yangmei harvest season starting from the early 1990s. As a result, the influence of Gongruixia Yangmei expanded to over 10 nearby villages, with the planting area growing to over 6,000 mu to date, gradually forming an industrialized Yangmei cultivation sector and boosting brand recognition. Later, starting in 2007, the “Gongrui Yangmei Festival” was renamed the current “Yongxiang Yangmei Festival” and is now held alternately between Xiashanmen Village and Gongruixia Village.