Agricultural heritage in Zhejiang丨Shaoxing Kuaiji Mountains: Millennium Torreya is grafted with happy “three generations of fruit”_Hangzhou Net

2022 is the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launching the “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)” protection initiative, a high-profile and heavyweight conference “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems Conference” It was grandly held in Qingtian. On this occasion, “There are Treasures in Zhejiang” launched a special series – Agricultural Heritage in Zhejiang, looking for “living history”, feeling the star fire of farming culture that has lasted for thousands of years, how to light up the present and illuminate the future.

At this stop, we came to the core protection area of ​​the “Guaiji Mountain Ancient Fragrant Torreya Group in Shaoxing”, which is an important agricultural cultural heritage in the world – Torreya Wang Village, Zhaojia Town, Zhuji City.

In the depths of the Kuaiji Mountains in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, on the mountains with an altitude of 200-800 meters, there are more than 100,000 ancient torreya trees. They, with a life spanning thousands of years, are living agricultural cultural heritage and the crystallization of the wisdom of ancient civilizations.

Thousands of years ago, Shaoxing ancestors artificially selected, grafted and cultivated wild torreya trees into an edible fine variety “Torreya”, built fish scale pits around the torreya trees, opened up terraced fields, and intercropped tea, grains, vegetables, pastures and other crops under the torreya trees. The agricultural system of “Toreya tree – terraced fields (fish scale pit) – under-forest crops” is formed, which can not only prevent soil erosion, but also bring high economic benefits.

This unique mountain land use pattern, together with the ancient torreya tree, has been passed down from generation to generation in the production practice of local torreya farmers and continues to this day.

Torreya fruit is called “three generations of fruit” by local torreya farmers. Germination and differentiation in the first year, flowering and fruiting in the second year, and fruit ripening in the third year. The three generations of buds, flowers and fruits are in the same house and must be picked manually on the tree. Whenever the golden autumn torreya matures, the local people set up the centipede ladder, and it takes most of the day to climb the tree.

It has multiple functions such as food, medicinal, oil, and wood. Grandpa plants trees and grandchildren benefit. In the Kuaiji Mountains of Shaoxing, torreya has always been an important source of livelihood for the local people. There are three generations of torreya farmers in the family. Yes. In the ancient torreya forest, we met Xuan Jie, a new farmer of torreya, and his father Xuan Xincan. The grandfather grafted and planted, the father processed and produced, the mother managed the store, and the daughter promoted it online. The family has an orderly division of labor and a happy life.

Let’s go, follow us into the mountains, visit the thousand-year-old Torreya King, get to know the father and daughter of Torreya farmers, and listen to them tell about the happy inheritance of the “three generations of fruit”.