Melon King Crowned in Beijing for 176-Pound Watermelon
By Justine Lopez
It appears that May is the month for odd competitions in Beijing. First we had the Plank World Cup and now we have the largest watermelon competition.
The competition was held in Daxing, an agricultural area of Beijing, on May 26. This year’s winner was a 46-year-old farmer named Li Fengchun, who somehow managed to grow an astounding 176-pound watermelon, People’s Daily Online reports. According to Li, he spent the past 30 years cultivating this prized melon.
If you ask us, anyone who’s capable of growing a piece of fruit that weighs more than many adult humans deserves to hold the title of ‘Melon King.’ Li has actually been the reigning king for the past decade.
The inaugural watermelon competition was held back in 1995. At the time, the winner was a pinner 30 pounder. Well, the art of growing ginormous watermelons has come a long way since then. Last year’s winner, grown by Li, weighed in at a whopping 182 pounds.
So what’s Li’s secret?
“I just keep raising melons like my children,” Li said.
We don’t exactly know what that means, but it appears to be working.
In case you’re wondering, every piece of fruit that performed in the competition was tested for pesticide residue. It looks like no performance enhancing drugs were used in this year’s competition.
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