Beijing's newly unearthed old-flavor radishes, the classic "Xinlimei" makes a comeback

Original headline: Beijing's "old flavors" return to residents' "vegetable basket"

The "Bianganhong" carrot is redder in color than ordinary carrots. Photo by Ke Nanyan (Image source: Jingjiao Daily)

At the start of winter, the reporter discovered unusual vegetable varieties at the production base of Xiedao Resort in Chaoyang District, Beijing. At this base, farmers were harvesting carrots, and the reporter saw that unlike the carrots usually seen, these carrots had purplish-red skin and longer roots. The person in charge of the base said this was Beijing's "old flavor" - the "Bianganhong" carrot. This is a variety that was recovered after extensive searching and more than 3 years of purification and rejuvenation, with planting resumed in the autumn of last year. According to the introduction, the "Bianganhong" carrot has a longer root and burrows deeper into the soil as it grows, requiring manual digging at harvest, which uses more labor, and its yield is 10% lower than other carrots. However, this variety has a rich flavor and firm flesh, is more suitable for stewing and stir-frying, and is very popular with residents.

In addition to the "Bianganhong" carrot, the base also grows other Beijing "old flavor" vegetable varieties, including large and small walnut-veined cabbage, the split-leaf "Xinlimei" radish, as well as "Beijing Spiny Cucumber", "Beijing Autumn Cucumber", "Apple Green" tomato, and others.

Li Xinxu, deputy director of the Vegetable Office of the Beijing Agricultural Technology Extension Station, said that in order to meet consumer demand, the extension station began gradually restoring the cultivation of old vegetable varieties in 2011. At present, Beijing's family of traditional vegetable varieties has expanded to more than 10, with more than 50 planting bases, and in 2015 the total area reached 900 mu, supplying the capital's residents with 3 million kg of "old flavor" vegetable products throughout the year. From late November to this year's "two festivals" period, 1 million kg of "old flavor" vegetables including "Xinlimei" radish, walnut-veined cabbage, "Bianganhong" carrot, "Beijing Spiny Cucumber", and "Apple Green" tomato will be successively brought to market, adding some "Beijing flavor" to residents' "vegetable baskets".

It is understood that vegetable production in Beijing has a history of more than 2,000 years. Since the founding of New China, relying on the unremitting efforts of many scientific and technological workers and the broad masses of vegetable farmers, the suburbs of Beijing have formed a tradition of intensive cultivation, summed up much valuable experience, and produced many vegetable varieties unique to the area that are famous nationwide, such as the five-color chives of Yinghai Village in Daxing District, and the "Xinlimei" radish of Xihongmen in Daxing District and Luodaozhuang in Haidian District. After the mid-1980s, these varieties were gradually lost during the process of agricultural structural adjustment. (Staff reporter Lu Xiaochun)