Basic Introduction to Hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth
Qingzhou is located at 118°10′—118°46′ East Longitude and 36°24′—36°56′ North Latitude, in a warm temperate semi-humid monsoon climate zone. It has a terrain structure that is half mountainous and half plain, with its prominent features being many mountains, hills, and rivers. Low mountains and hills account for approximately 52.6% of the total area of Qingzhou.
The hawthorn tree thrives in sunny conditions, tolerates drought, and prefers low temperatures. Only on sunny slopes with fertile soil can the hawthorn tree produce fruits with fine flesh, good coloring, high sugar content, and excellent quality. The favorable ecological environment and moderate climate conditions in the western mountainous areas of Qingzhou create an optimal growing environment for the hawthorn, contributing to its superior intrinsic quality.
Hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth is the best variety among large hawthorns. According to historical records in the Qingzhou Gazetteer, it has been cultivated for over 500 years. The hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth is one of the main fruit trees in the mountainous areas of Qingzhou City. Its fruit size, quality, and yield are top-notch within the province and also rank among the best nationwide. The hawthorn tree is robust, with an open growth habit and a compact crown, forming a natural semi-round shape. Each hawthorn apple weighs 10-12 grams, and the fruit is nearly round but slightly flattened, with five ridges at the top. The fruit surface is bright red or fresh jujube red, covered with wax-like luster, and dotted with scattered yellowish-white small spots at the top, making it even more attractive. The flesh of the hawthorn ranges from light pink to pinkish-red, with firm texture, a slightly sweet sour taste, and exceptional quality.
Geographical Scope
The production area of Hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth encompasses the administrative regions of Wangfen Town, Shaozhuang Town, Mihe Town, and Wangfu Subdistrict Office in Qingzhou City, Shandong Province, which are currently under jurisdiction.
Product Features
The hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth has unique flavor and rich nutrition. It can be eaten fresh and is also an important raw material for the food processing industry, used to make hawthorn juice, pulp, dried fruit, cakes, wine, canned goods, and fruit leather. Tests have shown that every 100 grams of fresh hawthorn fruit contains 25.9 grams of dry matter, 0.7 grams of protein, 0.2 grams of fat, 25 milligrams of phosphorus, 22.1 grams of carbohydrates, 2.1 milligrams of iron, 85 milligrams of calcium, 0.82 milligrams of vitamin A, 0.02 milligrams of vitamin B, 0.05 milligrams of vitamin B2, and 89 milligrams of vitamin C. Additionally, it contains carotene, hawthorn acid, malic acid, pectin, and other substances. Hawthorns and processed products are popular as “therapeutic foods” for treating heart disease and hypertension, and are highly favored by consumers.
Hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth is large in size, high in quality, suitable for processing, strong in resistance, and adaptable to a wide range of environments. Many people from all over the country come to Qingzhou to introduce this variety or purchase it. Currently, there are 5.25 million hawthorn trees of the Qingzhou Open Mouth variety in Qingzhou City, mainly distributed in mountainous towns such as Wuli, Guanyin Gou, Diaoyutai, Wangfen, Sunwang, Lianhuapen, Shijia Chema, as well as in plain towns like Huanglou and He Guan. Through techniques such as pit storage of fertilizers and water, pruning, limb spreading, girdling, spraying plant regulators, formula fertilization, and pest control, the yield has increased year by year. In 1994, the total output reached 12 million kilograms.
History and Folklore
The cultivation history of the hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth in Qingzhou City is long-standing, and it is a renowned specialty product of Shandong Province. According to the “Qingzhou Gazetteer” dating back to the 44th year of the Ming Jiajing period (1565), its cultivation history spans over 500 years.
In the 1970s, hawthorns gained widespread popularity as “nutritious health fruit,” leading the Qingzhou municipal government to specifically arrange for fruit tree technicians to conduct systematic research on the hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth. They clarified the biological characteristics and botanical traits of the hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth, summarized a comprehensive set of high-yield cultivation techniques, and promoted them across the city while strengthening management. At the national evaluation meeting held in 1978, the quality of the hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth ranked among the top.
After the national hawthorn conference was held in Qingzhou in 1979, it greatly stimulated the development of local hawthorn production.
Speaking of the hawthorn of Qingzhou Open Mouth, there is a tragic yet beautiful love story associated with it locally. It tells the tragic love story of a young man named Baijing who lived at the foot of Black Mountain and a girl named Pomegranate. Due to Pomegranate being forcibly conscripted into the palace, they were separated. Baijing, longing day and night, transformed into a Baijing tree standing on the cliff. Pomegranate, who managed to escape the palace, collapsed next to the Baijing tree and recited the 108 love poems she had written during their 108 days apart before closing her eyes and transforming into a sapling that intertwined with the Baijing tree to grow into a tree full of beautiful red fruits. Each red fruit resembled Pomegranate's rosy face, and people called it Pomegranate. When the emperor heard about this, he angrily ordered it to be called “Mountain Dregs,” meaning “rubbish of the mountains.” People secretly changed the name to “Hawthorn.” Because Pomegranate read 108 love poems before her death, the hawthorn fruit has never closed its mouth to this day. Even today, hawthorns must be grafted onto Baijing trees to bear fruit.