Basic Introduction to Alimali Tree-Dried Apricots
The tree-dried apricot, commonly known as the hanging tree-dried apricot, is a local wild apricot that grows only in the ancient city of Alimali on the southern slopes of Mount Bolokunnu, where the temperature difference between day and night exceeds 20 degrees Celsius, and there is a unique reverse temperature zone climate. This area includes the Fourth Agricultural Division's Sixty-first Regiment and the Daxigou Township in Huocheng County. It is named for its tendency to dry on the branches without falling off after ripening to a deep red.
The Fourth Agricultural Division's Sixty-first Regiment is located at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains in the Yili region of Xinjiang, in the town of Xiaomazha (Alimali) in Huocheng County. The name Alimali comes from the Mongolian word for “Apple City.” This area has a typical reverse temperature zone continental arid semi-desert climate, with abundant sunlight, large temperature differences between day and night, and fertile soil, providing excellent geographical conditions for fruit forestry. The tree-dried apricot, commonly known as “hanging tree-dried apricot,” is a local wild apricot that grows only in areas with a temperature difference of over 20 degrees Celsius between day and night and a unique reverse temperature zone climate in the southern slopes of Mount Bolokunnu near the ancient city of Alimali, i.e., the Fourth Agricultural Division's Sixty-first Regiment and the Daxigou Township in Huocheng County. It is named for its tendency to dry on the branches without falling off after ripening to a deep red. The Alimali tree-dried apricots have a unique flavor, and when fresh, they are yellowish-red with sweet and fragrant flesh, no sour taste, and good texture.
The Fourth Agricultural Division's Sixty-first Regiment is located in the northwest of the Yili region in Xinjiang, adjacent to the Khorgos Port. The ancient city of “Alimali,” which was once a bustling “Central Asian Paradise” during the Yuan Dynasty, is situated here. The Sixty-first Regiment has taken full advantage of its geographical and resource advantages to vigorously develop specialty fruits such as tree-dried apricots, Red Fuji apples, oil peaches, and grapes. There are currently 40,000 mu of orchards, producing more than 30,000 tons of various fresh fruits and 1,000 tons of dried fruits annually, with 14,000 tons of fruits exported. The regiment is committed to building the “Tianyi” brand of fruit products, gradually achieving large-scale planting, standardized orchard construction, market-oriented operations, and industrial development.
The Tianyi-branded tree-dried apricots are a unique fruit resource of the Sixty-first Regiment, with fresh apricots that are brightly colored and sweetly flavored. The dried fruits have sweet and chewy flesh, extremely thin shells that crack easily, and sweet kernels. The tree-dried apricots are rich in nutrients, including multiple trace elements essential for human health, calcium, vitamins, carotene, and other nutrients. They have high levels of fat, protein, total soluble sugars, malic acid, citric acid, and vitamins, and have anticancer properties, making them highly favored by domestic and international buyers.
The production area for Alimali tree-dried apricots is located in the town of Xiaomazha (Alimali) in Huocheng County, Yili region, Xinjiang, at the foot of Mount Bolokunnu in the alluvial fan plain, between 80°10′28″E and 80°39′03″E, and 40°11′51″N and 40°50′10″N. To the west, it is bounded by the Khorgos River, facing Kazakhstan across the river; to the east, it borders Yichegashan Township in Huocheng County; to the south, it connects with the Mohur Ranch and leads directly to National Highway 312; to the north, it reaches Wenquan County in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture; and to the southwest, it neighbors the Sixty-second Regiment. The regiment is 83 kilometers away from Yining City, 15 kilometers from the Qing Shui He Economic Development Zone, and 14 kilometers from the national first-class port of Khorgos, and is within the planned Khorgos Free Trade Zone, providing significant advantages for exporting to Central Asian countries. The production area has a reverse temperature zone continental arid semi-desert climate, with warm winters and cool summers, ample sunshine, and large temperature differences between day and night, suitable for the growth of various fruit trees. The geographical protection area for Alimali tree-dried apricots covers 16 agricultural and forestry companies in the Sixty-first Regiment.
Product Characteristics
The Alimali tree-dried apricots have a unique flavor. When ripe, they are yellowish-red with sweet and fragrant flesh and no sour taste. The dried apricots have a sugar content as high as 69% and 5.95 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams, considered a rare delicacy among dried fruits. The fresh fruit is round, smooth, and free of impurities, weighing 10-20 grams each, with a bright yellowish-red color and a sweet flavor. The dried fruits have a deep yellow translucent color, sweet and chewy flesh, extremely thin shells that crack easily, and sweet kernels, offering a good texture. They are a rare variety suitable for fresh consumption, drying, and kernel extraction.
Historical Folklore
The Sixty-first Regiment, known as the “Hometown of Tree-Dried Apricots in China,” has been cultivating tree-dried apricots for over 50 years and is the largest tree-dried apricot production base in China.
Alimali was once a key fortress on the route to Central Asia and West Asia and an important military site on the ancient battlefield.
In the Yuan Dynasty, Yelü Chucai lived in Alimali for a period. In his “Journey to the West,” he wrote: “There are eight or nine subordinate cities with many grapes, pears, and fruits.” According to “The Journey West of Master Changchun,” “People call this place Alimali because it has many fruit trees, hence the name of the city Alimali.”
According to historical records: “In remote times, the surrounding hundred miles were covered with lush grass and dense forests, with a warm climate, making it an ideal hunting ground for nomadic peoples and a garden filled with falling petals and flower beds.” The Chinese National Conditions Series – Socioeconomic Survey of Hundred Counties and Cities (Huocheng Volume), Huocheng County Annals, Xinjiang General Annals – Fruit Annals, and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Horticulture Annals all have records about mountain apricots (tree-dried apricots). In the surrounding areas of the regiment headquarters and the lower regions of Daxigou, there are also large numbers of wild apples, wild apricots (tree-dried apricots), wild hawthorns, wild sour plums (red and yellow), wild walnuts, and Tian Shan cherries, all of which are thousands-of-years-old wild species.
The tree-dried apricot, commonly known as the hanging tree-dried apricot, is a local wild apricot that grows only in the ancient city of Alimali on the southern slopes of Mount Bolokunnu, where the temperature difference between day and night exceeds 20 degrees Celsius and there is a unique reverse temperature zone climate, i.e., the Fourth Agricultural Division's Sixty-first Regiment and the Daxigou Township in Huocheng County. It is named for its tendency to dry on the branches without falling off after ripening to a deep red. Every year, when the apricots ripen, people around the area pick them as wild fruits to eat. Due to their excellent taste, more and more people began picking them, and some started transplanting the apricot seedlings in front of and behind their homes.
In the mid-1990s, the cultivation of tree-dried apricots as an industry began in the Sixty-first Regiment with large-scale planting, with the planting area increasing year by year. The registered trademark “Alimali” for tree-dried apricots has passed national trademark certification.
In 2007, the Sixty-first Regiment established a 5,000-mu production and processing base for tree-dried apricots and dried fruits with organic product certification. It