Shandong county holds hawthorn festival

The Feixian 2023 Hawthorn Festival recently opened in Dongmeng town, which is administered by Feixian county in Linyi city, located in East China's Shandong province.

A smartly dressed visitor picks some hawthorn berries in an orchid in Feixian county. [Photo by Ren Guangdong for chinadaily.com.cn]

Feixian county has a long history of cultivating hawthorns and their berries – used in traditional Chinese medicine and eaten as snacks – which have been recognized as a Chinese geographical indication product, as well as a national famous and excellent agricultural product.

Building on its traditional advantages, Feixian has focused on improving and innovating its hawthorn varieties. The producers there now have a cultivation area of 110,000 mu (7333.3 hectares) and produce 150 million kilograms of hawthorns annually.

In recent years, Feixian has prioritized the development of agriculture and rural areas, implementing practical measures to promote specialty products.

The Feixian Hawthorn brand has continued to thrive. By capitalizing on its beautiful ecosystem and environment, the county has emphasized picking, tourist experiences and agritourism.

The county has actively cultivated new forms of integration between agriculture and tourism, particularly through the development of a local tourism model that showcases special landscapes and promotes health through natural products.

These efforts have attracted over 200,000 tourists each year, increasing the annual rural tourism industry output value by over 50 million yuan ($6.84 million).

Additionally, Feixian has explored the cultural and medicinal benefits of the hawthorn – promoting the development and use of authentic medicinal materials and functional health foods.

The county now boasts 12 hawthorn processing companies, producing over 20 high-value products including hawthorn wine. (Edited by Jin Yongxue)