Xiao Xi National Wetland Park: Mountains Bathed in Spring Light, Water Reveals Early Spring Ducks
China Net March 10th News Today, Xiao Xi National Wetland Park area of Shixia Town, Xinshao County, Hunan Province, has become a paradise for ducks. In the spring of Yangchun, the spring color is flourishing. The Grand River of Hunan Province is full of vitality, presenting a vibrant scene everywhere.
As a well-known agricultural town in Xinshao County, Shixia Town is known as ‘Xinshao’s Grain Warehouse’. It is also a famous ‘Ma Ya (Mallard) Town’. The Ma Ya produced in the town are raised in the field, so they have a unique flavor and are comparable to wild duck, and are highly praised by tourists. There is a saying: ‘If you come to Shixia, eat Ma Ya first; Shixia Ma Ya, famous all over the world’.
Shixia Ma Ya has delicious meat, and the board duck, roasted duck, duck paws, duck legs, duck wings and duck tongues made from it are all excellent dishes on the plate. As early as the Qing Dynasty, ‘Ginger Fried Duck Pieces’ from Shixia was famous throughout the Bao Cheng Prefecture and was highly praised by diners. Today, when entertaining foreign guests, they never forget to order ‘Three Treasures of Shixia Duck’: Duck Legs, Duck Tongues and Duck Feet Packages.
It is understood that the local ducks raised by the people of Shixia have strong foraging ability and weigh about 1.5 kilograms. The female ducks lay about 180 eggs a year. Over the years, the people of Shixia have taken advantage of the market and gradually transformed from self-sufficiency production to commodity production. The number of ducks raised has increased, and based on this, they have inherited and cultivated the ‘Shixia Ma Ya’ with its unique local characteristics.
In recent years, Shixia Town has worked hard to promote ‘Shixia Ma Ya’, vigorously developed the Ma Ya industry, and built several professional cooperatives such as Changshato Head Ecological Agricultural Cooperative and Hunan Gua Gua Qiao Food Co., Ltd., and encouraged poor households to raise ducks to escape poverty and become rich. Currently, ‘Shixia Ma Ya’ duck farming has been listed as a key poverty alleviation project in Hunan Province. The whole town’s annual Ma Ya duck farming quantity exceeds 2 million.
‘In 2022 and beyond, we will continue to improve and enhance the relevant construction of ‘Shixia Ma Ya’ characteristics and strengthen the publicity of the Shixia Ma Ya brand culture, forming a mixed-economy development pattern integrating modern agriculture, leisure tourism, and rural community. We will strive to build Shixia Town into Hunan’s Duck Distribution Center, Innovation and Entrepreneurship High Ground, Industrial Investment Sinkhole, Foodie Food Paradise, and Tourist Resort.’ Talking about the future development, the Secretary of the Party Committee of Shixia Town, Xie Yongqiang, is full of confidence. (Liu Youxiang Deng Feng
