Mulberry Ecological and Cultural Festival kicks off in Shandong's county

The 17th Mulberry Ecological and Cultural Festival began on May 19 at the Debai Tourism Town in Xiajin county, Shandong province.

This year's festival themes, "Touring the Yellow River Old Course", "Exploring Vibrant Xiajin County", and "Experiencing a Happy Life", were highlighted during the opening ceremony. The event featured the release of six tourist routes, along with a signing, appointment letter presentation, unveiling, and award ceremonies for the "Discover Beautiful Shandong" themed event. Throughout the mulberry festival, which will run until Jun 19, more than 10 activities will take place, including exploration of tourist routes in the county and the hosting of Shandong merchants visiting Xiajin.

An unveiling ceremony takes place at the opening ceremony of the 17th Mulberry Ecological and Cultural Festival. [Photo by Deng Meiping/for chinadaily.com.cn]

The Xiajin Yellow River Old Course Ancient Mulberry Grove stands as a significant agricultural heritage and specialty industrial resource. Xiajin county plans to engage in extensive collaboration with companies to enhance the development of mulberry cultivation and deep processing fields, fostering a wider range of application scenarios and increasing the value of production. Through these efforts, the county aims to leverage its resource advantages for industrial and developmental purposes.

In recent years, Xiajin county has capitalized on the versatile properties of the mulberry, utilizing its leaves, fruits, twigs, roots, bark, and seed oil to develop nearly 200 healthcare and wellness products. These products span four categories: fruit wine, fruit products, leaf tea, and phellinus linteus.

Tourists capture photos of the diverse mulberry products. [Photo by Deng Meiping/for chinadaily.com.cn]

The county boasts 30 enterprises dedicated to the mulberry industry, along with 20 deep processing enterprises for mulberry fruit and 60 farmers' professional cooperatives and processing workshops. This setup forms a comprehensive industrial chain integrating plantation, processing, cultural experiences, ecological tourism, and healthcare. The annual output value of the local mulberry industry reaches 1 billion yuan ($138.24 million).

The Cultural Tourism Consumer Season of Dezhou was launched concurrently with the mulberry festival. Thirteen clusters and scenic spots offering nighttime activities released nearly 100,000 yuan worth of consumption vouchers, thereby stimulating the potential for nighttime consumption. (Edited by Zhang Ying)