What Are the Top Ten Local Specialties of Qiqihar?

The mountainous area around Jingpo Lake enjoys mild weather and abundant rainfall, with unique natural forest vegetation that creates ideal growing conditions for Chinese medicinal herbs. Valuable medicinal plants such as astragalus, fritillary, codonopsis and eleutherococcus are widespread here, among which ginseng stands out as the most famous. It ranks first among all Chinese herbal medicines and tops the list of the "Three Treasures of Northeast China".

The upper part of ginseng’s main root is round like a human head, with lateral roots spreading out in the shape of the Chinese character "eight", resembling human arms and legs, hence the name ginseng. Locally, it is called "bangchui". It is a perennial herb of the Araliaceae family, mainly growing in mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests dominated by Korean pines. The plant can reach 60 centimetres in height, with palmate compound leaves growing in whorls at the top of the stem. In the first year, it bears one petiole with three compound leaves, known as "three blossoms". In the second year, five compound leaves stretch out like an open palm, called a "palm frond". It blooms in the fourth year with umbels of pale green flowers at the stem apex, bearing round red fruits like clusters of red agate. Not until the seventh year does it grow six sets of palm fronds, also named "six-leaf specimen".

Ginseng blossoms every summer, and its fruits ripen in autumn. The seeds of wild mountain ginseng take 20 to 22 months to germinate after falling to the ground, and 40 to 50 years to grow to a weight of one liang. One liang of wild mountain ginseng costs more than one liang of gold. Thus there is an old saying: "Seven liangs count as ginseng; eight liangs count as treasure" (calculated under the ancient weight system where one jin equals sixteen liangs).

Going up the mountains to dig ginseng is known as "mountain hunting" or "treasure gathering". In the past, mountain hunters in the Jingpo Lake area usually formed teams. When harvesting ginseng, hunters lined up horizontally about three metres apart, using wooden ginseng-finding sticks to brush through grass and search carefully. When someone spotted ginseng, they would shout at once: "Bangchui!" The companions would immediately reply: "Good fortune!" and rush over quickly. First, they tied a red thread with copper wire at both ends around the ginseng stalk. Then they cleared surrounding weeds, dug out soil with wooden tools, and slowly brushed residual soil off the fibrous roots with bamboo picks, digging down more than three chi before lifting out a complete ginseng root.

Keshan County in Heilongjiang Province is hailed as the Hometown of Potatoes. The county’s terrain mainly consists of rolling hills and flat plains. The northeastern part is high with undulating hills, while the low-lying southwest features rolling undulating flatlands. Keshan’s soil is leached chernozem, soft, fertile and rich in humus with a deep organic layer, earning it the moniker "Pearl of Black Soil". Its pH value ranges from 6.8 to 7.0, with organic matter content of 4.0%, available nitrogen of 80–150 ppm, available phosphorus of 14–30 ppm and available potassium above 150 ppm. The soil and landforms are perfectly suited for potato cultivation.

Five rivers run through the county: the Nemur River, Wuyuer River, Runjin River, Aolong Ditch and Taixi River. These rivers hold ample unpolluted water in summer, providing reliable irrigation resources.

Keshan lies in the third and fourth accumulated temperature zones of Heilongjiang, featuring a mid-cold temperate continental monsoon climate. It has an average annual sunshine duration of 2,709.9 hours, an average annual temperature of 1.1°C, effective accumulated temperature above 10°C of 2,500°C, an annual frost-free period of 125 days, and average annual rainfall of 550 millimetres concentrated between June and August — the critical tuber expansion stage when potatoes require large volumes of water. Such climatic conditions match potatoes’ physiological traits: preference for cool weather, long sunshine hours and abundant water and nutrients during tuber swelling.

Main potato varieties grown in Keshan include Heifeng and Huangmazi. Favoured by consumers for their large size, pleasant taste and high starch content, they are the top choice for vegetable wholesalers and retailers.

Keshan County is known as the "Granary of the North" and "Hometown of Soybeans". Keshan Soybean holds a certified geographical indication trademark of China and is protected as a national agricultural geographical indication product. Located in western Heilongjiang and the northeastern part of Qiqihar, Keshan covers an area of approximately 3,320 square kilometres with 3.02 million mu of cultivated land. Blessed with abundant natural resources and fertile soil, it boasts unparalleled agricultural advantages, ranking as a national key commercial grain base, soybean export base and potato production base.

The "Keshan Soybean" application submitted by the Keshan Green Food Association passed the review and expert evaluation organized by the Agricultural Products Quality and Safety Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, granting it national agricultural geographical indication registration and protection.