Brier grapes boost eco-cultural tourism of Zhongfang County
2022-09-05
On September 1, the 2022 Hunan Brier Grape Brand Promotion Conference sponsored by the People’s Government of Zhongfang County, Huaihua City opened in Changsha, and the signing ceremony of brier grapes agritourism projects was held on site.
As a wild grape variety peculiar to China, the brier grape is called “Pearl of Hunan” because the fruits look like pearls and the main producing areas are in Western Hunan. With a planting history of more than 400 years, the brier grape is a well-known specialty of Zhongfang County and its planting area covers 62,000 mu (about 4133.33 hectares) that yields nearly 140,000 tons of grapes annually. Zhongfang County was honored as the “Grape Valley in Southern China” by Yuan Longping and the “Home to Chinese Brier Grapes” by the Grape Branch of the China Association of Agricultural Science Societies. Moreover, the brier grape has become a national geographical indication protection product, with its industrial chain achieving an output value of 810 million yuan.
According to the “2022 Grape Industry Big Data Analysis Report”, 91 percent of the provinces in China sell grapes through CNHNB.com.. Hunan Province ranks 10th nationwide in terms of supply, which accounts for 3.33 percent of the total. The market share of brier grapes in Zhongfang County ranks first in Hunan Province, and the grapes are mainly transported to provinces like Yunnan, Hunan, Guangdong, Hebei and Shandong.
Zhongfang County not only boasts tasty brier grapes, but also serves as a key tourism county in Hunan, with 3A tourist attractions like the “Grape Valley in Southern China”, the key historical and cultural site of Jingping Ancient Village protected at the national level, Wushui National Wetland Park and National Wulongxi Water Conservancy Scenic Area. The core producing area of brier grapes is located in Dasongpo Village of Tongmu Town, which enjoys picturesque scenery and develops industries relevant to beautiful scenery, delicious food and mellow wine. In this connection, Dasongpo Village acts as a resort integrating grapes picking, wine-making, wine tasting and sightseeing. The agritainment in the “Grape Valley in Southern China” attracts nearly 150,000 visitors annually.
In order to facilitate the integration and development of eco-cultural tourism industry resources between Hecheng District and Zhongfang County, Zhongfang County made the most of this promotion event and introduced three quality tourist routes, focusing on activities like strolling around the intangible cultural heritage fair in Jingping Ancient Village, visiting grape growing areas, savoring mellow wine and enjoying parent-child tour in Huaihua Wildlife Park.
In order to increase the added value of brier grapes, Zhongfang County has invested and raised hundreds of millions of yuan for deep-processing and extending industrial chain. There are a series of products made of brier grapes, including wine, grape juice, grape essential oil as well as grape ice cream and rice noodles. On the site, many local companies successively introduced their products, which tempted the masses to scramble to taste bunches of grapes and fruity wine.
In addition to the brand promotion conference, this cultural tourism festival also includes eight major activities like the opening ceremony, wine tasting, expert workshop on grapes and wine, economic and trade fair, half marathon and water paddle board performance. Among them, the opening ceremony will be held on September 5 in Dasongpo Village.
