Cooling Snack: A Brief History of Watermelon in Beijing

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The weather in Beijing has certainly been sweltering recently (or at least humid from all the rain). On summer days like these, it's hard to say no to a refreshing slice of watermelon. You might know that watermelon is a must-have for Beijingers in summer, but did you know that Beijingers' affinity for watermelon has existed for more than a thousand years?

Watermelon, the go-to summer treat for Beijingers!

Watermelons originated in Africa, and were later introduced to China through the western regions (西域 xīyù). However, the exact date of the introduction of watermelons to China is disputed. Some historians believe that they were introduced during the Five Dynasties (907-960), whereas others believe watermelon was brought to China as early as the Han dynasty (206 AD-220 BC).

Beijing was the first stop on the watermelon's path into China. The ancient Khitan people brought the first batch of watermelon seeds to Beijing through the vast Gobi Desert in northwestern China.

At that time, Beijing's economy was booming and the city had close trade links with ethnic minorities in the north, so watermelon was first introduced to Beijing and then to the rest of China. It was in that moment that the seed of Beijingers' love of eating watermelon was planted and began to grow. 

Though it's a little hard to believe nowadays, watermelon was originally considered to be a luxury food and was reserved for the rich. A tomb mural discovered in Inner Mongolia and dated to the Liao dynasty (907-1125*) can attest to this, as it portrays a wealthy individual indulging in watermelon – one of the earliest depictions of watermelon in Chinese art.

This Liao Dynasty tomb mural is one of the earliest depictions of watermelon in China

But it wasn't until the greater Song dynasty (960-1279*) that watermelon cultivation really took off. The great poet Su Dongpo liked watermelon so much that he wrote a poem to express his joy: "Sit in the north eating watermelon and throw your watermelon to the east when you are done."

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In the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Daxing Panggezhuang had already become famous for its watermelons, and it still is to this day. Emperor Jiajing loved to eat watermelon so much that he even opened up an imperial melon garden.

Portrait of Emperor Jiajing

Many people love to eat the sweetest piece of watermelon flesh, which allegedly can be found right in the middle of a melon. Empress Dowager Cixi was certainly no exception to this rule. In fact, one summer she ate the sweet part of more than 300 melons!

Cixi was a demanding eater when it came to watermelons

The way Cixi ate watermelon was also particularly delicate (or wasteful, depening on how you look at it), because she only took a scoop of the very center of the watermelon flesh and threw the rest of the melon away. She liked to order people to make watermelon bowls 西瓜盅 xīguā zhōng, in which a watermelon would be filled with lotus seeds, longans, walnut kernels, almonds and chicken. Cixi found the dish very refreshing, making it the perfect summer imperial food.

A recreation of an imperial watermelon bowl, a favorite of Empress Dowager Cixi

However, such treats were not available to the poor. In fact, people who couldn’t afford to buy watermelon would make do with people’s leftovers, that is, watermelon rinds, which were once known as 溜西瓜皮 liū xīguā pí.

Nowadays, watermelons are basically readliy available to everyone thanks to farmers in Beijing as well as the government’s efforts to get them into the city.

In 2018, Beijing planted more than 26.67 square kilometers of watermelon, yielding 132,400 tons of the fruit, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Today, Beijing’s local watermelons mainly come from Daxing and Shunyi Districts. Panggezhuang, in Beijing's Daxing District, is known as the first watermelon town in China. The soil there has a golden color that is covered by a layer of silvery sand, creating the perfect conditions for growing watermelons.

Watermelon fields in Pangezhuang in Daxing

Shunyi District's Beiwu Town is best known for its watermelons. The soil there is sandy as well, and the melons are said to taste as sweet as honey.

Watermelon stands used to be everywhere in Beijing during the summer. According to statistics, during the summer of 1985 the Beijingers ate an average of 30kg of watermelon each – the highest average ever recorded! It certainly seems that watermelons were every Beijinger's favorite summer companion that year.

Of course, the enthusiasm for watermelon has slowly died down over the years, but there is still just something so nostalgic about watermelons for Beijingers, and many of us feel like summer wouldn't be complete without snacking on some.

I still distinctly remember the time when I used to buy melons at a stall and the vendors would cut the melon into triangular shapes for me to sample. The childhood memory of cool watermelon juice sliding down my throat is something I will never forget.

A watermelon stand on the street

Have you gotten your watermelon fix this summer?

*The Liao dynasty, aka Khitan Empire, ruled a vast swath of northern China around the time the Northern Song dynasty controlled China.

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Images:  Rens D (via Unsplash) Dianping, Wikipedia

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