Endless fields of watershield in Shizhu, Chongqing, ripple with green waves
The photo shows a bountiful watershield harvest, with local people beaming with joy.
In late spring and early summer, the watershield harvest season has arrived once again. Walking into Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County in Chongqing, located in the heart of the Three Gorges Reservoir area, the beautiful sight of "boundless watershield fields rippling with green waves" is enchanting. Under blue skies and white clouds, contiguous watershield fields spread out like a green carpet, and when the wind passes, gentle jade-green ripples rise. Farmers are busy harvesting while tourists keep taking photos; the joy of a bountiful harvest and the ease of leisure gather in this Tujia mountain township and flow through people's hearts.
Watershield, honored as "ginseng in the water," is an aquatic plant that thrives in acidic soil at altitudes between 1200 m and 1600 m, and has very high requirements for natural conditions such as water quality, climate, soil and sunlight. At present, Shizhu County has a total watershield planting area of 13,000 mu, more than 4,100 households growing watershield, and annual sales revenue from watershield exceeding 100 million yuan. Shizhu watershield has also obtained pollution-free product and production area certification.
"We have always given full play to the comprehensive advantages of integrated agricultural development funds, project integration, the integration of the three industries and whole-process development to vigorously advance the watershield industry. We have not only cultivated a number of leading enterprises and successfully registered a batch of well-known green food brand trademarks, but will also build a watershield research and development center and a deep-processing base," said Mou Xianhai, director of the Shizhu County Agriculture Committee.
"The main market for watershield is overseas." On the basis of in-depth research, Shizhu County reached a consensus: to build the Shizhu watershield brand and comprehensively raise the income of watershield farmers, it must enter the international market. To this end, the county made direct export of watershield an important part of using integrated agricultural development to drive industrial development, and actively helped watershield enterprises apply for direct export rights. In 2006, Shizhu watershield obtained direct export qualification, rewriting the history of watershield exports having to take a detour and "change clothes before being married off," and increasing the output value of each ton of fresh watershield by more than 1,000 yuan.
Watershield fields are paddy fields, so could they follow a path combining planting and breeding? The county agriculture committee selected some watershield fields as demonstration plots and signed agreements with farmers to raise fish in watershield fields. Through trials, raising fish in watershield fields not only allows 100 to 120 kg of marketable fish to be raised per mu each year, but can also increase watershield output by more than 200 kg and raise the pectin content of watershield by more than 5%.
To make the watershield industry bigger and stronger, starting in 2014 Shizhu County used the national integrated agricultural development project for pilot zones supporting economic development policies in ethnic regions, investing a total of 20.05 million yuan to implement contiguous environmental improvement of watershield bases, improving the production environment, safeguarding water sources and consolidating the planting scale.
With the strong boost from integrated agricultural development, the leading role of leading enterprises in the watershield industry has become fully evident. In 2015, the price of Shizhu watershield rose from an earlier average of 8 yuan per kg to 11 yuan. Because of the good market, last year the watershield picking period was also extended by nearly 1 month compared with before, and the picking rate was improved.
"As the industry grows and expands, what we are now thinking about is how to extend the industrial chain and do a good job of deep development." Mou Xianhai introduced that foods such as watershield vinegar and daily chemical products such as handmade watershield soap have already been developed, and one enterprise in Shizhu County has even developed 27 products in three major categories, including watershield masks, beverages and beauty capsules, and has currently applied for 14 patented technologies.
Agritourism tied to watershield also shows broad prospects. In the Huangshui area, the main watershield production area in Shizhu, there are many scenic spots such as the Dafengbao primeval forest, known as "Chongqing's most beautiful forest," and the Youcao River, known as a "natural gallery." In recent years, Shizhu County has held watershield culture festivals to let tourists experience the fun of picking, cook watershield dishes, increase the output value of watershield and drive economic development.
During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, Shizhu County plans to integrate 500 million yuan in funds to build a 30,000-mu high-quality, high-yield watershield production demonstration base, produce 50,000 tons of high-quality organic fresh watershield annually, develop deep processing of watershield throughout the whole chain, improve the marketing network, accelerate the development of the entire watershield industrial chain with multiple functions and high added value, create a uniquely distinctive watershield wetland leisure and sightseeing belt in China, promote the integrated development of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries, and drive 5,000 farming households in the project area to increase their incomes and become prosperous.
Tips
How to eat: There are many ways to eat watershield. Traditional ways include cold-dressed watershield, watershield and egg soup, watershield and meatball soup, watershield and sliced pork soup, braised tofu with watershield, and braised bamboo shoots with watershield. In recent years, local enterprises in Shizhu have also successfully developed and launched ready-to-eat foods such as watershield health beverages, watershield powder and watershield jelly.
How to get there: Shizhu County has convenient transportation, and it can be reached by bullet train from places such as Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Beijing. After arriving in Shizhu county town, transfer to the Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway and the watershield base can be reached in 30 minutes.