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Located east of Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan Province, and on the southern bank of the dry-hot valley of the Jinsha River, Binchuan County is a fertile and resource-rich area. It boasts abundant produce, including flowers and trees from all over China, as well as fruits from both the north and south, earning it the titles of "Hometown of Citrus," "Hometown of Grapes," and "Hometown of Fruits."   Speaking of Binchuan, one must mention its year-round produce of "Binchuan Fruits," including grapes, citrus fruits, pomegranates, winter peaches, and apples! Currently, Binchuan County is the largest county-level early-ripening grape production base in China, with an annual output of 600,000 tons of high-quality fruits such as grapes, citrus fruits, and soft-seed pomegranates, generating a value of 4.5 billion yuan.   In June 2019, the Binchuan Grape Product Promotion Conference and the launch of the Binchuan Fresh Fruit Regional Public Brand "Bingguo'er" were held in Beijing and Shanghai. After leaving the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Zhang Minghong, known as the "King of Selenium-Rich Black Grapes," told reporters that he had previously transplanted black grape seedlings from Dalian to Dali, Yunnan, enabling hundreds of thousands of fruit farmers in that area to grow early-ripening grapes with better economic benefits, and leading the fruit farmers of his Xinghongda Farmers Professional Cooperative onto the road to prosperity. Now, he hopes that his carefully cultivated thousand acres of Ziyu seedless grapes will also spread from Binchuan to the Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau regions.   This selection activity was based on voluntary application and recommendation by the local agricultural administrative department, receiving nearly 300 applications from all over the country for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area "Vegetable Basket" Production Base (Fourth Batch). After preliminary review, 186 applications met the requirements. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area "Vegetable Basket" Production Base certificate is valid for 3 years.   The "Vegetable Basket" project for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was launched in May 2019. Using the quality and safety standards for supplies to Hong Kong and Macao as benchmarks, it aims to provide the market with higher-quality agricultural products and promote the improvement of the quality and safety standards of edible agricultural products in the Greater Bay Area. Operating under the model of "one standard for the market, one platform for circulation, and one system for quality and safety supervision," the government guides enterprises to ensure their products are "affordable, high-quality, and authentic" through the introduction of relevant supporting policies, creating a "vegetable basket" platform that allows consumers in the Greater Bay Area and even the mainland to eat with peace of mind and buy with satisfaction.   At Zhang Minghong's 100-acre Ziyu seedless vineyard, the reporter saw that this year's Ziyu seedless grapes have reached their peak growth period, growing even better than the Golden Finger, Ruby, and Sapphire grapes from the United States and Australia, and have already begun to bear clusters of fruit.   According to Zhang Minghong, the selenium-enriched black grapes he initially introduced were first sold to Guangdong, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macau, establishing a solid foundation for their production. Especially in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the selenium-enriched grapes from the Binchuan Xinghongda Agricultural Products Professional Cooperative have long been among the most popular fruits in high-end fruit shops.   The reporter also learned that Zhang Minghong's Ziyu seedless grapes have passed relevant testing according to the national standard GB5009.93-2017, "National Food Safety Standard: Determination of Selenium in Food," with a measured selenium content of 0.484 mg.   Looking at Zhang Minghong's lush and verdant Ziyu seedless grape orchard, the reporter tentatively guessed that, allowed, friends in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau would be able to taste the Ziyu seedless grapes from the Dali Binchuan Xinghongda Farmers Professional Cooperative next month.   It is understood that Binchuan will continue to focus on developing high-quality plateau-characteristic agriculture, strengthening the connection between production and sales of agricultural specialties and brand promotion, enhancing cooperation in breeding, planting, processing, display, and trading of characteristic and advantageous agricultural products, actively participating in the construction of the "vegetable basket" circulation system in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and further promoting Binchuan's agricultural opening-up and cooperation.   Reporter: Zhang Yaohui   Editor: Wang Yutian

In the blink of an eye, the fields of Binchuan, Dali, are covered with early-ripening grapes. Among them, the Minghong brand "Purple Jade Dzi Beads" grapes by Zhang Minghong, the "King of Selenium-Rich Black Grapes," are particularly unique. These finger-sized "Dzi beads" evoke the feeling of "These beads should only exist in heaven; how often can one taste them on earth?" for many tourists.   Jizu Mountain is said to be the place where Kasyapa, one of the Buddha's chief disciples, preached. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Theravada Buddhist believers and tourists from home and abroad visit. Zhang Minghong, the "King of Selenium-Rich Grapes," is said to be one of these "lay disciples." In previous years, when this reporter visited Binchuan, I would take the opportunity to admire the majestic and awe-inspiring Jizu Mountain scenic area. Zhang Minghong's nearly 1,000 acres of carefully cultivated Purple Jade Dzi Bead vineyards have left a deep impression on me.   Since the introduction of Ziyu Dzi beads from Australia five years ago, Zhang Minghong's orchard, known as the "King of Selenium-Rich Black Grapes," has been bustling with tourists from all over the country who come daily to taste them. One Mr. Zhang, who previously worked at the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture, asked someone to buy several kilograms of Ziyu Dzi beads from Binchuan. After tasting them, he was inspired to write a banner that read, "The golden finger from across the ocean has flown into the homes of ordinary Chinese people," and sent it to the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater in Beijing, hoping that his celebrity daughter could also taste the Ziyu Dzi beads from Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake.   Although the planting area of ​​this type of Ziyu Dzi bead is still relatively small—currently, only Zhang Minghong's orchard in Binchuan, Dali, has achieved large-scale, contiguous cultivation in China—its unique shape and the reputation of being the most dazzling rubies and sapphires on the fruit's crown have already made Ziyu Dzi beads famous far and wide.   Inside Zhang Minghong's Ziyu Dianzhu grape greenhouse, reporters observed tourists from various places eager to try the grapes bringing their harvested Ziyu Dianzhu grapes to Zhang Minghong's wife, Li Hongmei, for weighing and payment. Li Hongmei explained that they generally offer significant discounts to customers tasting the grapes, such as reducing the price from 168 yuan per kilogram to 128 yuan, and giving away an extra kilogram for every two kilograms purchased. This has attracted even more tourists to buy Ziyu Dianzhu grapes from Zhang Minghong.   Zhang Minghong's partner, Abing, told reporters that he had often heard people talk about the beauty of jade from Tengchong and Ruili, but he was surprised to find that only after visiting their Ziyu Dianzhu greenhouse did tourists understand what "jade beads" grown on trees truly meant, and that their "jade" was meant to be savored.   After cutting open these seedless Ziyu grapes with a knife, the reporter saw that the flesh was very delicate and surprisingly delicious. Although it costs around 128 yuan per kilogram, as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for." Considering this "jewel in the crown" of fruits, the Australian-origin Golden Finger (Ruby and Sapphire) grapes at 128 yuan per kilogram are indeed not expensive.   Speaking of his own Ziyu seedless grapes, Zhang Minghong, the "King of Black Grapes" rich in selenium from Binchuan County, said that although they are all grapes, the grapes that Binchuan people used to grow, such as Crensen and Xiahei, only cost a little over 10 yuan per kilogram, and even the better Ziyu Tianzhu grapes were only a little over 100 yuan per kilogram. However, the Ruby and Sapphire grapes, known as the "jewels in the crown" of grapes, cost several times more than other grape varieties, exceeding 200 yuan per kilogram. Zhang Minghong calculated that ordinary fruit farmers can earn about 30,000 yuan per mu by growing Xiahei grapes, but if they grow Ziyu Tianzhu grapes, they can reach 300,000 yuan per mu. If we calculate based on the nearly 10,000 fruit farmers in the Xinghongda Farmers' Professional Cooperative, their income will increase tenfold.   The Tang Dynasty poem contains the famous line, "A rider in the dust brings a smile to the imperial concubine's face; no one knows it's lychees arriving." Mr. Luo Yuanqing, a close friend of Mr. Zhang Minghong, changed it to, "A rider in the dust tastes the purple jade; only then do they realize that dzi beads surpass jadeite" (Zhang Yaohui).

In April, flowers bloom and spring fills the gardens, the air in Binchuan filled with the fragrance of citrus. When the reporter arrived at the foot of Jizu Mountain in Binchuan, Dali, a place renowned as one of the four sacred Buddhist sites, truckloads of citrus were being hauled away from the distant mountains, while vineyards along the roadsides were already bearing fruit. Deputy Director Zhu of the local Rural Agriculture Bureau told the reporter that although Binchuan's 180,000 mu of early-ripening grapes were growing well, the most gratifying sight was the 100 mu of Ziyu seedless grapes at the Xinghongda Agricultural and Sideline Products Cooperative in Jinniu Town.   Is that really true? Perhaps the reporter misheard; 100 mu and 180,000 mu are incomparable.   With these questions in mind, the reporter visited this unique vineyard in Jinniu Town. At first glance, bunches of green, blue, and purple grapes hung heavily on the vines. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the vineyards here were indeed quite different from those elsewhere; the leaves seemed larger and greener, and the grapevines appeared much thicker.   Is that really true? "Could the reporter have misheard? 100 mu and 180,000 mu are incomparable," the reporter thought.   With this question in mind, the reporter arrived at this unique vineyard in Jinniu Town. At first glance, bunches of green, blue, and purple grapes hung heavily on the vines. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that this vineyard was indeed different from grapevines elsewhere; the leaves seemed larger and greener, and the grapevines appeared much thicker.   Just as the reporter was about to observe more closely, the vineyard owner, Zhang Minghong, renowned among fruit farmers in Dali, Yunnan, and even in Chuxiong, Lijiang, Lincang, and Pu'er as the "King of Selenium-Rich Black Grapes," came in and explained that the Ziyu Tianhe grapes were just beginning to bear fruit. He said that in another 20 days, each grape would be as thick as a child's finger, extremely beautiful, and tasted absolutely delicious.   Zhang Minghong told reporters that his Ziyu seedless grape seedlings originated from Australia and are known as "Golden Finger," "Ruby," and "Sapphire" varieties in the US and Australia. As a renowned selenium-rich black grape variety in Yunnan's grape-growing industry, Zhang Minghong's Ziyu seedless grapes have higher levels of selenium, anthocyanins, and vitamins than their foreign counterparts.   It is understood that anthocyanins have anti-radiation properties. The color of anthocyanins changes depending on the pH value, and most anthocyanins exhibit good stability under light, heat, and pH. For white-collar workers or those exposed to prolonged sun exposure or electromagnetic radiation, the effects of anthocyanins are indispensable.   Furthermore, the anthocyanins in Zhang Minghong's Ziyu seedless grapes are also a natural anti-aging nutritional supplement, currently considered one of the most effective antioxidants found in nature and the most effective antioxidant discovered by humans to date. The anthocyanins in Ziyu seedless grapes inhibit elastase and collagenase, making skin smoother and more elastic, and improving joint flexibility.   It is precisely because of the many advantages of the Ziyu seedless grapes carefully cultivated by Zhang Minghong that people have a strong interest in their unique fruit shape, nutrition, and taste, which allows them to sell for a high price of 160 yuan per kilogram. Zhang Minghong told reporters that a few days ago, Zhang Jixin, a national second-level actor of the Central Opera and Dance Theater, and his junior sister Lü Wei had ordered several boxes of Ziyu seedless grapes through Zhang Jixin's family in Kunming.