Chongqing - The Fourth Yangtze River's Three Gorges (Wushan) Plum Flower Festival opened on March 11 in the Guanyuan village, Quchi town of Wushan County in Chongqing. The festival has entranced visitors with beautiful sceneries, pleasurable activities, and cultural products.

Colorful activities in the opening ceremony 

Wushan County is home to Wushan Crispy Plums, one of the high-quality specialty fruits growing in Wushan Mountain. 

As the "Hometown of China's Crispy Plum," Wushan county aims to further promote its tourism with its entrancing plum flowers and local natural resources and build the Wushan tourism brand.

It is the first time visitors can view flowers during the day and cruise at night.

Tourists are spoilt for choice to experience the wonderful music carnival, plum flowers-themed markets, plum streets auctions, flower God Fair, flowers sacrifice activities, and other activities.

The stunning dancing performance in the Fourth Yangtze River's Three Gorges (Wushan) Plum Flower Festival opened on March 11 in the Guanyuan village, Quchi town of Wushan County in Chongqing. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

The girl in "Hanfu" experiences the cruise routes in the Fourth Yangtze River's Three Gorges (Wushan) Plum Flower Festival. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

One of the plum flower-themed stalls sells cultural products in the Fourth Yangtze River's Three Gorges (Wushan) Plum Flower Festival. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Blueprints for Wushan crispy plum industry

The county has identified Wushan crispy plum industry as its pillar industry that boosts local people's income. Estimated was that the brand value of Wushan Crispy Plums was at 1.918 billion yuan ($303.4 million) in 2020, ranking first in all national plum varieties.

At present, there are more than 60,000 households engaged in the Wushan Crispy Plums industry in Wushan county, covering 222 villages in 23 towns. In 2021, the sales of Wushan Crispy Plums reached 630 million yuan.

Wushan country has organized the county's fruit industry technical training for more than 5,240 people and trained more than 23,000 people to use production technology.

Plum blossoms light up the Little Three Gorges in Wushan county. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

It is understood that Wushan County has a history of plum cultivation for nearly a thousand years since the Tang (618-907) and Song Dynasties (960-1279). 

Wushan county, situated at 30 degrees north latitude, has a mild climate all year round. The abundant rainfall, sufficient sunshine, and good air for an average of more than 340 days per year give birth to the Wushan Crispy Plums. 

In recent years, as the planting technology has been optimized, Wushan Crispy Plums have won some national qualification certificates, such as the Gold Award for plums.