You have probably heard about Checheng’s Onions and Mangoes – and the early watermelons – but Checheng’s dragon fruit is also a prominent local flavor! Let me bring you today to a very local, and less visit place in Checheng Township – Fengyi Dragonfruit Farm (峰億農場).
Just as towering buildings need to be constructed brick by brick from the foundation, planting trees also starts with seeds and saplings that slowly grow. The growth of Fengyi Agricultural Products also took over a decade. Running a business is always full of surprises, and starting one is never as smooth as expected! Sister Zhang recalls, “I remember one year, the typhoon disrupted everything, and my husband and I were up until the wee hours of the morning trying to protect against the typhoon. It was a memorable experience. As farmers, our livelihood depends on the weather!” The mix of bitterness and sweetness in this experience requires a will of “persistence.”
Mrs Zhang, Fengyi Farms Boss
Mrs Zhang says, that “In fact, our honey dragon fruit is drought-resistant. We have a journey of heart in making it because the quality of the dried fruit is very high quality, all of it comes from fruit flesh that weighs over ten liangs. Dragon fruit has a lot of water content, so it dries quickly, in about twenty, twenty, twenty hours, it becomes a bit bitter. That’s because of the seeds inside, what they call sesame seeds, actually that cover makes it taste bitter. Later we slowly did it five or six times, adjusted the taste to be sweet aftertaste, and the sweetness was enhanced, which was quite good.”
Due to the extremely hot weather in Hengchun, the peninsula’s dragon fruit is rich in intense fruit aroma. The flesh is solid, fragrant, and chewy; sweet and smooth, very juicy, and what’s special is Sister Zhang’s dragon fruit from Fengyi, which can be called “Red Diamond 紅鑽石” level.
Its deep red color, like a rose, is deeply loved by dragon fruit enthusiasts – truly a supreme delight! The largest fruit can weigh up to 2 jin and 10 liang (approximately 1.25 kg), and the large size of the fruit is a trademark of Fengyi Agricultural Products. Therefore, it won the prestigious title of “Fruit King 果王” in 2016, truly living up to its reputation!
Mrs Zhang continues to say, that: “We’ve actually been growing our dragon fruit for nearly 6 years, so it’s about the nutrients and the care it takes to grow, especially what my husband says, I look at it three times a day and mix it, only then it will grow better, or it will grow better, yeah! Our parents gave us this to make sure we look after this crop well, how to take care of it, how to let it grow well, and then sell it, sell it at a good price.”
Farmers in this Renshou Village work hard, sweating profusely, looking forward to a bountiful harvest and revenue, and hoping to deeply cultivate and promote their beloved dragon fruit business, which is indeed a joy. In the symphony of nature – hearing the insects and birds, the song of the emei birds, bathed in sunlight and moisturized by moonlit dew, absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon, insisting on providing consumers with the healthiest and safest dragon fruit.
Mrs Zhang adds, that ” But before, there were many types of melons and fruits like cantaloupe, papaya, those we sell are all monopolized by some middlemen. So we felt that this was very unfair to them. Later we thought to ourselves that we should change this situation, so we were determined to face our consumers with the fruits we produce. I like that kind of willfulness, I like the willfulness of dragon fruit. Because dragon fruit doesn’t need to be sprayed with pesticides, it’s not afraid of wind or rain, just like our family members.”
“We might suffer a lot, but we are also very tired. Like us, we work until eleven or twelve at night, sometimes people need to pull a batch of goods, or need to be the backbone, we have to work until eleven or twelve at night, and then we think maybe after 3 years, we will do much bigger, maybe we will go back to our Checheng to make ice cream or something with dragon fruit, slowly developing many things with dragon fruit, in this way we can showcase the dragon fruit to the fullest, and really stand up for our farmers’ children.” – Mrs Zhang says at the end.
Location and Directions to 峰億紅龍果 Fengyi Dragonfruit Farm
Address: No. 558, Section 2, Shengbei Rd, Hengchun Township, Pingtung County, 946
Contact Nr: +886981981338