Foreigners were participating in a competition of peeling the hickory nuts in Lin'an. Photo: Li Zheng
The Lin'an museum is a magnificent ancient-style building. Photo: Jin Yingying
By Dai Ya
You may probably have heard about Lin'an -- one of the ten urban districts in Hangzhou. However, very few might be familiar with its local specialty -- hickory nuts -- neither with the rich cultural heritage exhibited at the Lin'an Museum.
On Oct. 21, journalists from Hangzhoufeel had a trip with a group of foreigners living in Hangzhou to Yao Sheng Ji (姚生记 Yáoshēngjì) Company's Digital Tourism Factory and Museum and the Lin'an Museum.
On that sunny morning, our multicultural minibus departed from the centre of Hangzhou and found ourselves surrounded by the fascinating mountains of Lin'an in less than an hour.
As told by a local guide, the unique natural environment of Lin'an with the Nine Mountains and abundant water resources creates the most suitable climate and soil for hickory nuts planting.
Yao Sheng Ji Company is the largest producing, processing and distributing centre of hickory nuts, walnuts, and pecans in China. Given that it was the first time for most of our foreign participants heard about the hickory nut, few people would have such a chance to learn about this Lin'an specialty from the professionals. Plus strolling around the modern museum equipped with virtual images and 3D screens.
There, we learned that hickory fruits are harvested in autumn and that the picking process is a quite laborious and risky activity because the workers have to climb up the tall trees to knock down the fruits. What is more, the thick green husk of the fruits needs to be promptly removed so that hard-shelled nuts (the kernels) can be finally peeled out. Originally, the traditional processing of hickory nuts included 4 manual work steps: husk removing, steaming, airing in the sun, and roasting with salt, sugar and seasoning. Now, the work is automated.
After the informative excursion, we had an amusing competition, where we tried to peel the hickory nuts against the clock. Each of the three winners received a box of nuts! Later, having finished our delicious lunch at a local dining hall, we headed to the Lin'an Museum.
The museum is a magnificent ancient-style building with a background against the green hillside of the Wuyue Cultural Park. It was a pleasant view at the moment we saw it. Not to mention that a surprising treasure was hidden behind.
The museum collections are around the story of the Qian family, the founder of the ancient Wuyue kingdom (in the tenth century AD) with its capital in Hangzhou (called Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty). Pottery, celadon, or jade ware - all the cultural relics exhibited are unearthed in Lin'an and some of them are even up to the First-Class Cultural Relics of China.
Marveled at the distant past of Hangzhou and satisfied with the day away from the city chaos and daily chores, we got on our minibus and pleasantly ended our one-day trip to Lin'an.