Little wampees make a big splash in Danzhou

Dacheng Town in Danzhou, Hainan Province is awash in wampee, a grape sized fruit native to southern China, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries. These fruits, which are in the citrus family, are valued in TCM for aiding in digestion and relieving heat. The wampee harvest season has arrived, and the town is playing host to a wampee themed tourism and food culture festival in celebration.

Fresh wampee in Dacheng Town. (Photo: Hainan Daily)

During the festival, about 70 stalls are not only selling large, plump, freshly picked Dacheng wampee, but also a wide variety of items made with the fruit. “We have bought dried wampee fruit as well as wampee Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), cookies, and jelly,” said a visitor who came from far off Heilongjiang Province to get in on the wampee fun.

According to the local resident Fu Shuwu, Dacheng Wampee is priced at 30 to 40 yuan per kilogram during this year’s festival. That’s a large jump from the price of only four to six yuan per kilogram five years ago.

Traditional salted, dried wampee. (Photo: Hainan Daily)

Wampee Zongzi. (Photo: Hainan Daily)

How has the price of wampee in Dacheng gone up so much in the past few years? Luo Can, who holds a doctorate from the College of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Hainan University, explained that it’s partially due to the industry development plan jointly rolled out by the University and Dacheng Town in 2021, which combines agriculture, sales, processing, and tourism. Thanks to the new development plan, the wampee industry in the town has ramped up both production and marketing.

Wampee Leaf Chicken. (Photo: Hainan Daily)

The ongoing wampee festival, which runs through the entire harvest season, provides a significant boost to the industry. Dacheng Wampee is being sold both online and on site, while wampee picking activities and new wampee products are also popular.

A wampee gift set. (Photo: Hainan Daily)

The wampee industry is boosting the town’s rural revitalization efforts. More and more land is being given over to wampee cultivation, and now Dacheng has over 400 hectares of wampee trees, with the total output value expected to exceed 20 million yuan (about $2.8 million) this year.