"Northeastern belles" in sheer gowns can be taken home for just 30 yuan

▲Northeastern women are known for their tall stature and well-defined facial features, making the region famous for its beauties.

Reported and photographed by Chen Ruizhong / Shenyang

Many say that women from China's Northeast region are tall with striking facial features, and their bold, unreserved personalities often captivate many men. Yet these seemingly unattainable northeastern beauties can actually be found everywhere in local markets.

It turns out that the Northeast region is abundant in a herbaceous nightshade plant, each fruit about the size of a 5 or 10 New Taiwan Dollar coin. The golden-yellow fruit tastes mildly sweet with a hint of sourness and has a slightly soft texture, though it’s not very juicy. Local fruit vendors say,this fruit is like northeastern women: beautiful on the outside, sweet on the inside, and with its thin skin covering the fruit, it resembles a girl’s sheer gown. That’s why this fruit is locally called "Northeastern Belle."It’s a very popular fruit among locals.

▲The "Northeastern Belle," wrapped in its sheer fruit skin, is a famous local fruit in the Northeast.

According to our findings, the "Northeastern Belle" is also known as "Guniang," "Girl’s Fruit," or "Golden Lantern," among other names. It has heat-clearing, detoxifying, cough-suppressing, and diuretic properties. It grows in the Northeast, North China, Shaanxi, and other regions, especially abundant in the mountainous areas of the Northeast, with its peak season being June to July each year.

▲Peel back the sheer skin of the Girl’s Fruit to enjoy its sweet flesh.

According to a local named Ms. Sun, when she was a child, Girl’s Fruit could be found all over the mountains and was relatively inexpensive—just a few cents per jin. But now, due to strong overseas demand, most of it is exported, driving the market price up to about 30 yuan per jin (1 jin = 0.5 kg, roughly 140 New Taiwan Dollars). However, because of its unique and sweet taste, Taiwanese travelers visiting the Northeast should,"definitely buy a few of these sweet 'Northeastern Belles' to try!"