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Pepper growing spices up life in deep mountains

(Xinhua)    08:48, August 05, 2020

For decades, Kou Rui's father kept the family of seven afloat through the huajiao (Sichuan pepper) trade. Like father, like son. Kou, 38, has built his own fortune from the unique plant and helped spice up poor farmers' lives deep in the mountains of northwest China.

Despite its name, Sichuan pepper, the dried rust-colored berries of a type of spiky shrub native to parts of west China, is not actual pepper. Delivering a slightly numbing sensation and a lemony, peppery aroma, it is used extensively in Sichuan food to create its trademark flavor: numbing heat.

Many Chinese people adore Sichuan pepper, while its journey from farm to table is bruising.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

Kou and his family live in Longnan City, northwest China's Gansu Province, which neighbors Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces. While the junction boasts a major Sichuan pepper-growing region, offering locals a potential lifeline, soaring mountains long stood in the way.

Among those to blaze a trail was Kou's father. Three decades ago, as the cultivation and harvest of Sichuan pepper required technical savvy, its planting was scattered and limited in scale. So was the trade. Besides, the journey to the nearest market was quite a trek.

The crop met great demand in Sichuan, on the other side of the mountains. To get there, burdened with the spice, Kou's father had to spend over 20 hours on the road, transferring from bus to train.

Quality Sichuan pepper produced in Longnan's Wudu District was sold for up to 8 yuan (about 1.15 U.S. dollars) per kilogram 30 years ago, twice the average daily salary of most workers in west China in the same period.

For Kou's family, Sichuan pepper has brought them fortune, and even a taste of the unknown. Once, his father bought peanuts from Sichuan after he sold his pepper in the province.

"It was the first time that I'd ever seen or eaten peanuts. I ate too much and suffered from diarrhea and vomiting for days," Kou recalled. "But Sichuan pepper gave me a glimpse at the outside world."

Despite these humble beginnings, the younger generation have spiced up the narrative in recent years, taking advantage of improved logistics and introducing fresh ideas, aided by favorable government policies.

Kou set up a Sichuan pepper cooperative in 2003 after completing military service. So far, his cooperative has pulled over 90 households out of poverty.

ADDING SPICE TO ECONOMY, LIFE

"Great potential in the demand for Sichuan pepper has revved up local growers' enthusiasm," said Chen Hongyan, head of an organization in Wudu District of Longnan that serves the trade of Sichuan pepper. In 2003, the local government designated the industry as a prime way to root out poverty, encouraging large-scale planting and bolstering infrastructure such as logistics.

More recently, powered by China's poverty alleviation efforts, the city's transport service has embraced a new round of upgrades. In 2017, a major railway connecting Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, and southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, through Longnan and multiple cities, opened for service. Couriers like SF Express have also established branches in Longnan, speeding up the delivery of goods.

Due to the leap forward in development, Kou has seen the freight transport time from his hometown to Sichuan reduced to less than five hours. Meanwhile, locally grown Sichuan pepper is of higher quality thanks to government support, and its supply is booming with more growers.

Once a local delight, now the spice has ventured abroad, gaining traction among foreign customers. Gao Zhidong, founder of another Sichuan pepper cooperative in Longnan, has not only succeeded in selling his products to hotpot heavyweight Haidilao but also tapped the German market.

When an industry offers hope, talented youths step in. Ouyang Shuzhi, a college graduate in e-commerce employed by Gao's cooperative, incorporated his expertise into their business strategies. Last year, of the cooperative's more than 30 million yuan in Sichuan pepper sales, one third came from online platforms.

"Among various Sichuan peppers of prime quality across China, those grown in Wudu District stand out due to their prominent numbing properties, thus enjoying popularity. And with top yields, we play a crucial role in leading the domestic Sichuan pepper market," said Niu Junping, deputy head of the district.

In the height of summer, clumps of ripened berries were seen hanging from shrubs in a village in Longnan. Wang Fuchao, a local villager, was weaving in and out of the branches. He had to finish picking all the berries on over 500 Sichuan pepper trees before early August.

According to Wang, Sichuan pepper could be sold at more than 120 yuan per kilogram this year, and his total income will reach at least 40,000 yuan. After the harvest, he will seek work in other places, earning more money for his family.

In Longnan, the history of cultivating Sichuan pepper dates back about 1,000 years. Now, the industry is taking on a new look. The Sichuan pepper planting area has reached 1 million mu (66,667 hectares) in Wudu District, and the industry has helped 86,000 local residents cast off poverty.

"The numbing spicy pepper has really spiced up the life of the poverty-stricken residents in rural areas," said Chen Hongyan.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Web editor: Wen Ying, Liang Jun)

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