1、Its summertime here in Beijing and thats the time when watermelons are enjoyed throughout the country.So popular are watermelons, in fact, that a festival dedicated to the juicy fruit is currently underway in a district of Beijing famous for its watermelons, as Jules Page discovered.Did you know tha
2、t China is the worlds largest watermelon producer?Well, here in Beijing there is one area - in the south east of the city - that is famous for its production of watermelons.And for the past twenty-four years Daxing district has played host to an annual watermelon festival.This week Daxings Nan Hi Zi
3、 park was the venue for watermelon growers, locals, visitors and fans of the juicy fruit to get together and celebrate this summertime favourite.Wu Changchun is the organizer of this annual festival and I asked him if there was a strong connection between Daxing district and watermelons.There is cer
4、tainly a connection. Daxing watermelons are one of our featured agricultural products, and our watermelons in Beijing, throughout the whole of China, and even throughout the world are very famous. At first we held this festival to promote watermelons, but later as we evolved, it became not just abou
5、t watermelons. Importantly we were also able to promote all of our achievements, including agriculture, industry, culture and tourism.Since its humble beginnings the watermelon festival has developed to showcase other agricultural products, such as vegetables and other fruits grown in the district.C
6、ompanies such as the Beijing Taohuayuan Agricultural Company are now using the festival as an opportunity to make their presence felt, as Tian Cui from the company explains.Our company was established in November last year and this watermelon festival gives us a chance to exhibit our products. Altho
7、ugh its a watermelon festival, through this event we can promote our potted fruits and vegetables.Although the watermelon festival has a serious side in helping to promote the Daxing area and its industries, its also a great chance for people to just get out and have some fun.The festival included v
8、arious activities such as an elaborate opening ceremony, watermelon eating competition, watermelon carving contest and the festival favourite C the annual King of the Watermelons, as the festival director explains.The most compelling competition is whose watermelon is the largest. This years King of
9、 the Watermelon was a man who grew a 27.15 kilogram watermelon! His name is Song Baoshen.Incredibly, square watermelons were also on display at this years festival.These are created by placing watermelons the size of walnuts into square glass boxes and allowing them to naturally assume the shape of
10、the box. The cubic shape is something of a novelty but these types of watermelons are no doubt easier to stack and store.Watermelon farmers were also on hand at the festival, to show off their produce and their watermelon growing skills.Zhang Zhixu has been growing watermelons for eight years and he
11、 is very passionate about what he does. He used to be a Chinese medicine practitioner and he applies traditional Chinese medicine theory when growing his watermelons.Because I grew up in the countryside, I love nature, I think being a doctor to the patients and to plants is the same thing. I hope th
12、at humans can eat healthier food; this is my ultimate dream.For those of us who are not experts but want to tell a good watermelon from a not-so-good one, Zhang has some advice.There are three kinds of methods; the first way is to feel the top of the watermelon. If theres no fur, its mature and that
13、s good. The second thing is to see its pattern, the third is to touch it, if it is too smooth that means its no so good.The annual Daixing watermelon festival is not the only festival of its type in the world but it is incredibly popular and a lot of fun. And if youre upset because you couldnt make it C dont worry, theres always next year.For CRI, Im Jules Page
