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).