Plateau Pear Festival in Luxi County, Honghe

Basic Introduction

• Chinese Name: 泸西县高原梨节
• English Name:  Plateau Pear Festival in Luxi County, Honghe

Luxi Plateau Pears, a specialty of Luxi County in the Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, are a nationally recognized agricultural product with geographical indication protection.

According to the “Guangxi Fuzhi” from the Qing Dynasty, the historical records include various fruits such as peaches, plums, and pears, suggesting that Luxi County has a history of over 250 years in pear cultivation. The flesh of Luxi Plateau Pears is white, with varieties such as Snowflake and Early White Honey being sweet, and Early Crisp and Beauty Crisp having a sweet-tart flavor. They are known for their thin skin, crisp, tender, juicy, and residue-free texture, with a small core and rich nutrition.

On May 22, 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China approved the implementation of national geographical indication protection for “Luxi Plateau Pears.”

Product Characteristics

External Appearance Though the four varieties of Luxi Plateau Pears vary in size, shape, and color, they all exhibit a well-formed fruit shape and smooth surface. The red pear varieties, Early White Honey and Beauty Crisp, have a unique color with a red hue on the skin, making them visually striking. Each variety has distinctive external features: Snowflake pears are oval-shaped with a green-yellow skin that turns yellow with a waxy, glossy finish and prominent fruit spots; Early Crisp pears are oval with a smooth, shiny green-yellow skin and small or non-existent fruit spots; Early White Honey pears are egg-shaped with a yellow-white skin and red blush on the sunny side, featuring a waxy, glossy finish; Beauty Crisp pears are near egg-shaped with a pale white flesh and a yellow-green skin.

Internal Quality All four varieties of Luxi Plateau Pears have white flesh. Snowflake and Early White Honey varieties are honey-sweet, while Early Crisp and Beauty Crisp have a sweet-tart taste. They share characteristics such as thin skin, crisp and tender texture, juiciness, residue-free, small core, and rich nutrition. Specifically, the fruit hardness is ≥2.50 kg/cm², soluble solid content is ≥11.00%, total sugar is ≥7.00%, Vitamin C is ≥2.5 mg/100g, and moisture content is ≥80%.

Production Environment

Soil and Terrain The planting area of Luxi Plateau Pears is characterized by mountainous plateau terrain, with significant elevation variations from the northeast to the southwest. The eastern part is hilly, while the western part is a flat basin. The highest elevation in the region is 2459.3 meters, the lowest is 821 meters, and the average elevation is 1700 meters, suitable for planting at 1650–2150 meters. The soil types include red soil, yellow soil, yellow-brown soil, purple soil, lime soil, and paddy soil, with red soil, yellow soil, and yellow-brown soil being predominant, and a pH value of 6–8. The main planting areas are flat lands in the basin, gentle slopes in the hills, and semi-mountainous and mountainous regions.

Hydrological Conditions The Luxi Plateau Pear planting area is served by one river and six rivers, including the Nanpanjiang, Baima River, Jinma River, Xiaojiang River, Yusa River, Shaobu Bai River, and A’e River, all part of the Pearl River system, providing abundant water resources.

Climate Conditions The planting area has a low-latitude plateau—Northern subtropical monsoon climate. The climate features include mild winters, non-extreme summer heat, synchronized rain and heat, distinct dry and wet seasons, small annual temperature variation, and large daily temperature variation. The average annual temperature is 15.2°C, with an extreme high of 34.1°C and an extreme low of -7°C. The effective accumulated temperature is 4638.9°C, the average frost-free period is 267.7 days, annual rainfall is between 800–1100 mm, total annual sunshine hours are 2112.1 hours, and the relative humidity is 75%, which is suitable for growing Luxi Plateau Pears.

Historical Background

Luxi County has a long history of pear cultivation. According to the Qing Dynasty’s “Guangxi Fuzhi,” pears were included among various fruits, indicating a history of over 250 years in Luxi County. Records from the “Luxi County Chronicle” show that by 1978, there were over 5000 acres of pears with about 200 tons of production. In 1977, varieties like Dingshan Crisp, Snowflake, Golden Flower, and Early Crisp were successfully trialed, leading to over 2000 acres of new varieties by 1989. By 1991, Luxi County was designated as a quality pear production base county in Yunnan Province, marking the start of the development period for Luxi Plateau Pears. By 2013, the planting area had expanded to 150,000 acres with an annual production of 120,000 tons.

Production Situation

In 2013, the planting area for Luxi Plateau Pears was 10,000 hectares with an annual production of 120,000 tons.

Product Honors

On May 22, 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China approved geographical indication protection for “Luxi Plateau Pears.” In December 2021, it was included in the third batch of the national list of famous, special, superior, and new agricultural products.

Geographical Indication

Regional Protection Scope The geographical indication covers eight townships in Luxi County: Zhongshu Town, Wujie Town, Baishui Town, Jinma Town, Jiucheng Town, Yongning Township, Xiangyang Township, and Santang Township. The geographical coordinates are 103°30′00″ to 104°03′00″ east longitude and 24°15′00″ to 24°46′00″ north latitude.

Quality Technical Requirements The quality control technical specification number is AGI2014-01-1433.

Safety Requirements The environmental conditions for Luxi Plateau Pears comply with NY5013-2006 “Hygienic Conditions for Pear Production Areas” and the production adheres to GB/T10650-2008 “Fresh Pears” regulations.

Specific Production Methods

1. Site Selection: Choose areas with an elevation of 1650–2150 meters, soil types including red soil, yellow soil, and yellow-brown soil with a pH of 6–8. The annual rainfall should be between 800–1100 mm, and annual sunshine hours should exceed 2000 hours. The area should be free from direct and indirect pollution sources, with fertile, deep, loose, aerated, well-drained soil and high organic matter content.
2. Variety Selection: The main varieties are Snowflake, Early Crisp, Early White Honey, and Beauty Crisp. Since 1977, various pear varieties have been introduced and trialed. Snowflake, Early Crisp, Early White Honey, and Beauty Crisp have shown suitability for the local unique climate and environmental conditions, with good performance. They mature early (5–8 days earlier than the pear production areas in Yunnan, 25–30 days earlier than the northern regions), are high-yielding, stable, with well-formed fruit, smooth surface, thin skin, small core, tender texture, few stone cells, juicy, and high soluble solid content (≥11.00%).