Hongzhi E Township: Pear Blossoms in Abundance Like Spring Snow

Wen Tu | Wang Zhiying

In the midst of spring, it's the season when pear blossoms are in full bloom.

Left-hand calligraphy master Huo Yongping invited me to visit their town, and I readily agreed. This afternoon, he drove with me to Hongzhi E Township at a rapid pace.

As soon as we entered Hongzhi E Township, the ground seemed to have experienced a blizzard, especially when standing on the 'Pear Blossom Festival' viewing platform, looking as far as the eye could see, it was a boundless expanse of white, a spectacular sight, reminiscent of 'The east wind blows open a thousand pear blossoms, breaking the fleeting spring days, only these flowers bloom'

I, who can't recite poetry, unexpectedly came up with four rhyming lines:

A thousand pear trees, a thousand pear blossoms in bloom,

A blizzard covers the sky, a white expanse it seems,

Asking Wang to pass, where does he reside?

Hidden amongst the pear blossoms, a village nestled deep,As I entered the pear garden, one by one, pear blossoms were swaying in the wind, and the air was filled with a faint floral fragrance. The fragrance entered the nostrils, drifted into the heart, making me greedily sucking it in. Looking further, looking closer, identical white pears, clustered together, one by one, like snow, like jade, so pure and pristine.

Huo Yongping told me that Wang Gu Pear is large, thin-skinned, with a small kernel, crisp flesh, abundant juice, and a golden-yellow color with high sugar content, possessing the effects of quenching thirst, clearing heat, moistening the lungs, and strengthening the spleen, and has been favored by people. Its products are exported throughout the country and to Vietnam, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries and regions, and has also won multiple gold awards at national, provincial and municipal agricultural fairs.

Wang Gu's pear cultivation began in the 1970s. Due to the constraints of the 'grain-based' thought, at that time, only 1000 acres were planted. The 1980s saw the liberation of farmers' minds, which enabled Wang Gu Pear to become the dominant industry of Wang Gu Village. Every family planted pear trees and made money from them. Just this one thing, the per capita income of the villagers exceeded 100,000 yuan.

With the rapid development of the pear industry as the main industry, the villagers voluntarily organized themselves to establish the 'Pear Association', implementing a supply, offer, and sale one-stop service, from pruning - fertilization - pollination - spraying - bagging - management - harvesting - listing. The 'Association' would invite city and district fruit industry experts to come to the village to impart technology, and many pear production technological demonstration farmers and pear sales brokers emerged in the village, bridging the mutually beneficial wealth-creating bridge between merchants and pear farmers.

Wang Gu Village's 'one village, one product' was quickly promoted and became the 'one township, one industry' of the entire town. The town had 49000 acres of farmland, planted with 35000 acres of pear trees, and many farmers' per capita income also exceeded 100,000 yuan, steadily entering the ranks of the moderately prosperous.

To view more original Yancheng life illustrations and videos, please follow 'Yancheng Window' headline number.

Editor: Zhang Guoping

Registration Number: Yancheng Net A00236

A00236