The planting history of walnuts in China
As a precious fruit, walnut has a long history of cultivation in China, dating back thousands of years. According to archaeologists' research, walnuts were planted in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China as early as the late Neolithic period. At that time, walnuts were mainly grown naturally, and people just collected and ate these wild walnuts.
Regarding the specific time when walnuts were introduced into China, the long-circulating historical saying is that Zhang Qian brought them back when he traveled to the Western Regions (more than 2,100 years ago). Hence the name “walnut”. Archaeological evidence shows that the Xinjiang region in the earlier Neolithic era has been the distribution of wild walnut, may be related to the migration of early nomads.
However, some scholars believe that China is also one of the origin of walnut. 1980, Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Task Force in Hebei Province, Wuan County, Hebei Province, found seven or eight thousand years ago, the primitive society site, unearthed the charred walnut nut shells. Hebei Agricultural University Professor Xi Rongting accordingly pointed out that China is also one of the origin of walnuts.
Whether walnuts are native or not, their cultivation history in China is very long. From the initial collection and consumption of wild walnuts, to later artificial planting and variety cultivation, walnuts gradually took root and sprouted on the land of China, becoming a widely popular nut. With the passage of time, human society gradually developed and began to try planting walnut trees in specific areas to increase yields. During the Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, walnut cultivation spread from the Central Plains to the northwest and north China. Jia Sixie, a Northern Wei agronomist, detailed the cultivation methods of walnuts in his book "Qi Min Yao Shu", indicating that a systematic planting technique had already been formed at that time. In the Tang Dynasty, walnuts became an important economic crop in northern mountainous areas due to their cold resistance and strong adaptability, and gradually expanded to the Yangtze River Basin. Meanwhile, walnut trees have gradually become an important fruit tree and are frequently mentioned in ancient literary works.
For more than two thousand years, our working people have carefully cultivated many new varieties of fine walnuts by utilizing common walnuts and our original wild walnut resources. After entering the 20th century, through variety improvement, many excellent walnut varieties have been cultivated, such as
185 Walnut,
Yunnan Walnut Inshell,
Xin2 Walnut Inshell,
Xingfu Walnut Inshell,
33 Walnut Inshell and so on. Through large-scale planting, China has become the world's largest producer and consumer of walnuts. According to statistics, China's walnut planting area is more than 120 million mu, with an annual output of more than 4 million tons. The main production areas include Yunnan, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei and Henan. Meanwhile, the development of deep-processed products such as walnut oil and walnut milk has further promoted its economic value. Not only to meet the domestic market demand for walnuts, but also to a certain extent exported to the international market, in the nut market occupies an important position.
From the West to the people's table, walnut planting history in China is not only a history of agricultural dissemination, but also witnessed the mingling of Chinese and foreign civilizations and innovation. Nowadays, walnut industry in rural revitalization and healthy diet trend continues to glow with vitality, the continuation of the millennium of natural gifts and cultural heritage. Hebei Huadai Group is one of the outstanding walnut and other nut production enterprises in China. The company has more than 1000 employees and has developed into a modern enterprise in China that integrates research and development, deep processing, and sales of dried fruits such as walnuts,
walnut kernels, and
cashews. Its main export destinations are markets such as Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
