Seeds of autumn

Gorgon nuts, freshly peeled after harvesting in Jiangsu province, are a seasonal delicacy with growing appeal across China, Xu Junqian reports from Suzhou.

By 9 o'clock every morning, 55-year-old Hu Xiuxia has been sitting on a small stool and peeling off white seeds from a pomegranate-like plant for almost three hours.

The plant in Hu's hands is called gorgon fruit or nut, or "rice from chicken head" among locals, because the fruit looks like chicken head. The aquatic plant has been grown and enjoyed in Suzhou for centuries, a land that is believed by many Chinese to be flowing with milk and honey, or paved with fish and rice in Chinese slang.