Basic Introduction to Nanfeng Tangerine
The Nanfeng tangerine is one of the oldest and finest varieties of citrus in China, and it is one of Jiangxi Province's renowned specialties. Historically, it has been known for its bright golden color, thin skin, tender flesh, residue-free texture, rich sweetness, and fragrant aroma, making it famous both at home and abroad. According to “The Book of Yu,” as early as over two thousand years ago, the citrus produced in the Nanfeng area was listed as a tribute product. Zeng Gong, one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, wrote a poem praising his hometown's citrus: “Bright and numerous, the autumn fruits are seen, interspersed among the leaves like frosty branches. They resemble green plumes and gold-threaded balls, rubbing against each other. When peeled, they make common oranges seem inferior; when placed in a pot, they harmonize with salt and spices. The common people undervalue them, but even the imperial court finds ordinary trees lacking. Who could present them to the emperor? A great tree rises above the vast sea.” At that time, tangerines were already being presented to the emperor, hence the Nanfeng tangerine also earned the reputation as “tribute tangerine” and was praised by Comrade Stalin as the “king of all tangerines.”
Product Characteristics
The Nanfeng tangerine is sweet and delicious, characterized by its thin skin, seedlessness or few seeds, little or no residue, abundant juice that is rich and sweet, fragrant aroma, bright golden color, and high nutritional value. It is also known for its small size, earning it the name “money tangerine” and making it famous both at home and abroad. In addition to being sold in large cities such as Shanghai and Wuhan, some are also exported. Merchants from countries like Britain, India, and the Netherlands often write letters to place orders, giving the fruit a certain level of prestige on the international market.
Historical Folklore
According to legend, long ago in a small town in southern China, it was market day, and the market square was bustling with people. A man pushed a cart full of oranges into the middle of the market, only to see everyone parting to make way for a short, fat, and ugly person. The orange seller didn't have time to move out of the way, so when the fat man approached, he bowed low and offered him an orange. The fat man gladly accepted and kept eating one after another until he couldn't swallow any more, without saying a word of thanks and then walked away. Beside him, there was an old woman with white hair and her weak son who were begging. Seeing how generous the orange seller was, they thought he must be a good person and begged him for an orange to eat.
The orange seller, who had just been smiling, now turned into a black-faced thunder god, yelling at them to get lost. The boy saw no hope of getting an orange, so he picked up an orange peel from the ground to eat. Seeing this, the orange seller quickly stomped on the peel and cursed, “Eat, eat, I'll make you die from eating!”
Just then, a fairy who happened to be traveling through the area saw everything and transformed into a beggar. He approached the orange seller and asked for food. The seller slapped his hand away and cursed, “One pair just left, and here comes another.” The fairy became furious and transformed back into his original form, ascending halfway into the sky and blowing a magical breath toward the seller's oranges. As a result, the oranges flew out of the basket, flying all the way to the west gate of Nanfeng City, where they landed after seeing the Buddha statue pointing toward Shuinan Village. From that day on, Shuinan Village began growing orange trees, and soon enough, Nanfeng was filled with orange orchards everywhere.
How to Distinguish Authenticity
1. Look: Many fake Nanfeng tangerines are artificially ripened and waxed, giving them a shiny appearance. Naturally grown Nanfeng tangerines usually have a natural look and rarely shine. Additionally, there will typically be a few minor scars on the surface, which are natural growth marks.
2. Smell: Squeeze an orange gently with your hand and smell it. Fake Nanfeng tangerines have a pungent odor, while authentic Nanfeng tangerines (tribute tangerines) have a pleasant orange fragrance that is not overpowering.
3. Taste: Thin skin, easy-to-separate segments, plenty of juice with no residue, sweet but not sour taste, and a distinctive orange aroma—these are unique characteristics of the Nanfeng tangerine, which also typically contains few seeds (authentic honey tangerines and tribute tangerines have seeds in about 2 out of every 10 fruits).
4. Burn: An expert tip is to squeeze the orange peel and spray the mist-like juice; it will ignite when exposed to fire.
Awards and Honors for Nanfeng Tangerines
◎ Since the Tang and Song dynasties, Nanfeng tangerines have been listed as tributes to the imperial court, hence the name “tribute tangerine.”
◎ Former Soviet leader Stalin praised Nanfeng tangerines as the “king of all tangerines.”
◎ In 1962, “Nanfeng tangerine” was named one of the top ten excellent varieties in China.
◎ Since 1976, Nanfeng tangerines have been awarded as national high-quality fruits for several consecutive years.
◎ In 1986, Nanfeng County was designated as a national citrus commodity base county by the state.
◎ In 1995, Nanfeng County was named “China's Nanfeng Tangerine Hometown” by the state and is one of the country's citrus commodity base counties.
◎ In 1999, “Nanfeng tangerine” was recognized as a well-known brand at the China International Agricultural Fair.
◎ Also in 1999, “Nanfeng tangerine” won a bronze award at the Kunming World Horticultural Exposition in China.
◎ In 2001, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation jointly recognized Nanfeng County as a national demonstration zone for horticultural product exports.
◎ Also in 2001, at the Jiangxi Province citrus competition, Nanfeng tangerines won gold, silver, and bronze awards, sweeping six places.
◎ In September 2002, Premier Wen Jiabao praised “Nanfeng tangerines as the gold medal.”
◎ In 2003, the Ministry of Agriculture designated Nanfeng County as a demonstration county for creating non-polluted agricultural products (Nanfeng tangerines).
◎ In November 2003, after review and verification by the China Green Food Development Center, Nanfeng tangerines were certified as Grade A green food products, allowing the use of the green food mark.
◎ In 2005, Nanfeng tangerines made their first export to the European Union, marking the first large-scale export of Chinese citrus fruits to the EU.
◎ In 2006, Nanfeng tangerines joined the ranks of “China's Famous Brand Agricultural Products.”
◎ In 2007, Nanfeng tangerines were recognized as a “China Renowned Trademark” by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.
◎ In 2008, Nanfeng County held a grand promotion event for Nanfeng tangerines.
◎ In 2009, the “Nanfeng Tangerine Cup” Second Pan-Yangtze Pearl-Min Mountain Bike Jiangxi Series Race.
◎ In 2010, there was a bumper harvest of Nanfeng tangerines.
◎ In 2011, the opening ceremony and cultural evening of the “China Nanfeng International Tangerine Culture Festival” were hosted by Zhu Jun and Dong Qing.
◎ In 2012, the Nanfeng Tangerine Trade Network officially opened to the Internet.