Where does longan chestnut belong?

Longan is known as the hometown of chestnut. Chestnut longan has the characteristics of waxy, sweet, good taste and high protein content.

Longan County, which belongs to Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is located in the southwest of China, on both sides of the lower reaches of Youjiang River, with east longitude10721'~1086' and north latitude 22 5 1'~ 23 2 1'. Longan County is one of the three major chestnut production bases in Guangxi, with a planting area of10.3 million mu and an annual output of nearly 6,000 tons. Chestnut longan has the advantages of early fruit and high yield, big red fruit and waxy meat. In 2002, it was awarded the title of "High Quality Chestnut" by China Economic Forest Association. In June, 2006, Longan County was named as "China Chestnut Town" by the State Forestry Administration.

Chestnut is a traditional special new year's product in Longan County. It is traditional because it has a long history. According to relevant historical records, chestnuts were produced in Longan more than 500 years ago. During the Spring Festival, people often wrap zongzi with chestnuts. Although the living standard of ordinary people was very low at that time, and chestnut zongzi did not contain any other ingredients, the wrapped zongzi was pure, sweet and refreshing, and was deeply favored by people. In this way, chestnut has naturally become a necessary new year's goods for ordinary people.

With the passage of time and social changes, the living standards of ordinary people have been continuously improved, but the status of chestnut, a new year's product, is still important in people's minds, and there are more and more patterns. When people wrap zongzi, they don't just use chestnut as stuffing, but use mung beans to mix a little seasoning, so the wrapped zongzi tastes better. In addition, when stewing chickens, ducks and pigeons, many people like to add a few chestnuts to stew in the same pot, so that the stewed chicken, duck and pigeon meat is tender, the soup is fresher and more nutritious. On holidays, if guests come, the simple and hospitable longan people will serve a few chestnut dishes, which will make people feast their eyes. At the same time, people in longan also attach great importance to reciprocity. When giving gifts to relatives and friends, there are also one or two packages of dehydrated chestnuts. Although it is not worth much, this traditional Chinese New Year product represents the hearts of people in longan.

Chestnut fruit produced in Longan County enjoys a good reputation both inside and outside the region, and the fresh fruit is mainly transported to Guangzhou for resale to Hong Kong and Macao. Dried chestnuts are mostly exported to major cities in North China and Northeast China.