◎Shenzhou Juicy Peach

Shenzhou Juicy Peach,a specialty of Shenzhou City in Hengshui,is a national geographic indication product of China,with a cultivation history of more than 2,000 years.According to the records of the Annals of Shenzhou County,“The native product of Shenzhou was peach in the Han Dynasty,and peach was royal tribute in the past.Peach of Shenzhou is the best in northern China and called juicy peach.”“Peach of Shenzhou,embroidery of Raoyang and silk of Anping are all unique and the best locally.”

There are two kinds of Shenzhou Juicy Peach,Red Juicy Peach and White Juicy Peach,also called “No.1 Peach” and “Cold Peach.” Red Juicy Peach’s fruit is oblong,with a sharp top,a deep suture line,two symmetrical sides,a short stalk,a deep stem pit,a bright color and red glow on the side that faces the sun.White Juicy Peach’s flesh is milky white or light yellow,with sticky nuclei and purple red rays near the nucleus.Their ripening period is from mid-August to early September.(https://www.daowen.com)

Shenzhou Juicy Peach may be classified into big peach and small peach,and the commonly-said Shenzhou Juicy Peach refers to big peach.Small peach is called “peach slave,” whose single fruit weight is about 50g,about 100g the maximum,and has a sugar content of more than 20%,so the taste is very sweet.The ripening period of small peach is about 15 days later than that of big peach.

On October 8,2014,the General Administration of Quality Supervision,Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China officially approved “Shenzhou Juicy Peach” as the product protected with a geographical indication.On February 26,2020,the superior area of Shenzhou Juicy Peach as the agricultural product with Chinese characteristic in Shenzhou City,Hebei Province was identified into the third batch of superior areas of agricultural products with Chinese characteristics.