Shandong's walnut hometown flourishes

A farmer from Mazhuang town in Feixian county, East China's Shandong province, shows off his walnut harvest. [Photo by Wang Xiaomeng for chinadaily.com.cn]

Mazhuang town in Feixian county, Shandong province, is known as the "hometown of walnuts" and has a walnut plantation area of 110,000 mu (approximately 7,333.33 hectares), making it the largest walnut production base in Shandong province.

Mazhuang town has been striving to create a complete industry chain cluster for walnuts. It has also established the first nationally recognized standardized demonstration area for the walnut industry chain within the province.

The town currently has a high-quality walnut breeding base covering an area of 40 mu. In addition, there is a standardized walnut planting demonstration park spanning 6,000 mu. These facilities are dedicated to cultivating and planting new walnut varieties such as Qiuxiang and Qingxiang, which are well-known for their aroma.

The town focuses on overcoming key technologies such as physical desiccation of walnut kernels and fresh walnut preservation. It has developed characteristic products such as jujube paste walnut, chocolate walnut and multi-flavored walnut, all of which are now popular snacks.

To keep up with the growth of e-commerce, the town has set up an e-commerce entrepreneurship incubation service center. This center nurtures 34 internet celebrity hosts who promote and sell characteristic agricultural products, such as walnuts, through livestreaming. This initiative has resulted in an annual revenue of nearly 20 million yuan ($2.81 million).

By leveraging its rich ecology, tourism, and cultural resources, the town has been developing rural tourism and creating popular attractions. The town often hosts events like the Walnut Culture Festival and Tassel Culture Festival, which attracted over 150,000 visitors during this year's May Day holiday. (Edited by He Yuge)