Night grape picking avoids the daytime heat; orchards embrace the moonlight economy

Tourists picking at the Yueqing Youfeng Grape Base. Photo by Jiang Wenguang

Quite a few people also come to pick at the vineyard during the day. Photo by Jiang Wenguang

Wenzhou Net News On a summer night, with a cool breeze blowing, gather a few friends and, in the vineyard, eat fresh grapes picked with your own hands. Since June 25, this scene has become a reality at the Youfeng Grape Base in Yueqing. Every night after 7 p.m., groups of tourists "duck" under the grape trellises to experience the fun of picking firsthand. This is a new sales model launched this year by the Yueqing Youfeng Grape Base; the base's self-service picking has been extended from daytime into the night, making it the first orchard in Wenzhou to open self-service picking tours at night.

This is indeed something new. Yesterday, out of curiosity, the reporter went to the Youfeng Grape Base to see for himself. From downtown Wenzhou, get on the expressway, and after about 40 minutes, turn right at the Lecheng expressway exit and drive about 800 m to reach the Youfeng Base; this location is only about 2 km from downtown Yueqing. Such a geographical location provides good support for night self-service picking tours.

"Grapes ripen in summer, and the daytime is hot, while office workers have no free time during the day, so we thought of opening night picking," introduced Pan Shanhe, head of the Youfeng Grape Base. The Yueqing Youfeng Grape Base has a total of more than 150 mu, with this year's output at about 130 tons, all of them high-quality extra-early and early-maturing varieties from home and abroad. Through temperature control inside the greenhouses, they usually ripen and are ready for picking in late June, more than half a month earlier than local traditional grape varieties. There is also innovation in planting management: sheep manure and other farmyard manure are used, natural fruit set is used instead of chemical agents, and yield per mu is controlled to ensure fruit quality; in terms of safety supervision, the base uses a QR code traceability system, and consumers can look up information such as picking time, production unit, contact information, and the person responsible.

At the scorching noon hour, inside the vineyard, the reporter met several picking-tour visitors. Mr. He from Liushi Town said he had also come after hearing about it from others. Pan Shanhe introduced that the base began offering daytime self-service picking tours last year, and this year it tried for the first time to extend the hours into the evening, opening the 19:00 to 21:00 time slot. A sunshade canopy and lights were set up in the entrance corridor, a walking path was paved with cement bricks, soft music is played at night, and equipment such as lights and flashlights has been provided.

It is reported that once the activity was launched on June 25, it was welcomed by nearby consumers. On clear evenings, more than a hundred people come each night, with as many as three or four hundred on the busiest nights. The picking season can last more than two months, until about September 10 at the latest.

It is understood that Yanpen Subdistrict in Yueqing, where the base is located, sits by the sea, and the surrounding fields have fresh air and are cool at night, making it very suitable for picking tourism. At present, night picking has only opened three greenhouses. The base says that if the results are good, it will consider replanning the entire park so that visitors can enjoy a romantic and sweet picking journey.

Transportation

Self-driving: Downtown Wenzhou - Yongtaiwen Expressway toward Yueqing - Lecheng (Wengyang) expressway exit - turn right and drive 800 m to the Zhiao intersection of Yanpen Subdistrict - enter at the Youfeng Grape Base sign.

Public transportation: Wenzhou Xinnan Station - Yueqing shuttle bus - Yueqing West Station - shuttle bus toward Wengyang (No. 16, No. 11), get off at the Zhiao intersection of Yanpen Subdistrict.

Tickets

Vineyard picking admission tickets: adults 20 yuan/person, children 10 yuan/person (free tasting included); for groups of more than 30 people, tickets are half price.

Prices

For individual visitors, grapes taken away after picking are 20 yuan per jin; for groups of more than 30 people, grapes taken away enjoy a 25% discount, at 7.5-fold price per jin.

Varieties

Black Balado, Zuijinxiang, Yongyou No. 1, Summer Black, Japanese Golden Finger, and other high-quality varieties from home and abroad. Ripe Black Balado grapes appear deep purple under flashlight illumination; ripe Zuijinxiang appears semi-translucent under light.

Dining

The local wild seafood of Yanpen Subdistrict is relatively famous. Within 1 km of the "Youfeng" base, seafood restaurants include Yanpan Shaomei Seafood Restaurant (in front of Yanpan Station), Zhangqian Seafood Restaurant, and Wuao Seafood Restaurant.

This article is reproduced from: Wenzhou Net