In ancient times, it was called melon and cantaloupe, also called netted melon, and it was called "Kuhong" in Uygur language. In China, only Xinjiang and Dunhuang in Gansu produce cantaloupe. In 1959, semi-dried cantaloupe was unearthed in the twilight excavated by Astana Guji Group in Turpan, and two cantaloupe skins were unearthed in another Tang tomb. This shows that cantaloupe was planted in Xinjiang as early as 1000 years ago. Many descriptions and praises about Xinjiang cantaloupe can be seen from ancient books. At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, "Journey to the West by Changchun Reality" said: "Melons are like pillows, but their fragrance is not a canopy." During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty, Ji Xiaolan said in the Notes of Yuewei Caotang: "The fruit of the western regions, peach blossoms in Toulufan, melon flowers in Hami." "Melon is a tribute, and it is Hami." Qing Xiao Xiong has a poem about Xinjiang Guayun: "There are many sweet topaz, and a camel basket is a tribute to Tian Jia." These verses show that Hami melon has a long-standing reputation and is listed as a treasure dedicated to the emperor. In the early Qing Dynasty, Zhang vividly described the scene of delivering cantaloupes to the emperor that he witnessed in Hexi Corridor: "Every time you ride a post, a hundred people enter cantaloupes. People hold small pockets, cover them with yellow clothes, and each person carries a melon, which is as sick as a bird. " This style is comparable to the grand occasion when Xuanzong and Yang Guifei sent lychees in Wan Li from the South in the Tang Dynasty.
The origin of the name cantaloupe is also rumored to be related to tribute. As early as the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the annual tribute of King Shanshan to King Hami was always the melon of East Lake Shanshan. Because the melon produced in East Lake is sweet and Gan Chun, it has a unique flavor and is praised by everyone. After a long time, people call it the king of melons. King Shanshan gave this tribute to King Hami. King Hami saw that this melon was so special that he sent an envoy to the court of Emperor Kangxi. Emperor Kangxi tasted this kind of melon and asked its name. The chamberlain only knew that it was given by the king of Hami County, and he replied that it was Hami melon. Since then, the name of cantaloupe has spread like wildfire. This legend may not be true, but the name of cantaloupe began in the Kangxi period, which is well documented. In the Qing Dynasty, the Uighur Records of Xinjiang said: "Since Kangxi, Hami surrendered, and this melon began to pay tribute, called Hami melon." There is also a saying that most melons in Xinjiang are transported from Hami to the mainland, so people are used to calling them Hami melons.
Hami melon can be planted in most oases in the north and south of Tianshan Mountain. The annual output of fresh melons in Xinjiang is about 500,000 tons. The famous producing areas of Hami melon are Turpan Basin, Jiashi, Makaiti, Pishan, Yutian, Xiayedi, Jinghe and Wujiaqu in southern Xinjiang, which are close to the desert. Among them, the crisp melon with red heart produced in Turpan area is the most prominent. This kind of melon has now become a high-grade commodity for export (the price is two to four times higher than that of ordinary fruit), and it has crossed the ocean. Melon is oval, weighing 2-3 kg, with gray-green skin and thick reticular fruit stalk. The melon pulp is crystal clear as jade, sweet and full, mellow and refreshing. Biting your teeth is like coating your lips with sticky honey. Because this kind of melon is the best in the East Lake area of Shanshan County, there is a saying that "Xinjiang melon is the best in the world and East Lake melon is the first in Xinjiang".
Hami melon can be divided into two types: net and smooth skin. According to maturity, it can be divided into early-maturing melon eggs, summer melon (middle maturity), wax gourd (late maturity) and other varieties. Different varieties of melons have different shapes, colors and dermatoglyphics. Common fine varieties are crisp red hearts and sweet black eyebrows (melon skin has dark stripes such as beautiful eyebrows, so it is called black eyebrows; "Honey is extremely fragrant", which means flower skirt in Uygur), battery red, iron sheet, green hemp skin, netted fragrant pear, Hami Jiageda, small green husk, crisp white husk and fragrant pear yellow. Plastic greenhouse cultivation is feasible. Every May, early-maturing melons come on the market, and then all kinds of melons mature one after another. Late-maturing black eyebrow honey is very sweet as soon as it comes into the market, approaching the late autumn of 10. This kind of late-maturing wax gourd has good quality and is resistant to storage and transportation. After exposure in autumn, it is wrapped with rope and hung in a warm kiln for winter, and it is still delicious as new in spring. It is common for Xinjiang people to bask in watermelons on the roof, pile melons under the bed, cut melons to entertain visitors, and eat snacks and melons around the stove in cold winter. Hami melon is not only delicious, but also nutritious. According to the analysis, the dry matter of Hami melon contains 4.6%- 15.8% sugar and 2.6%-6.7% cellulose, as well as malic acid, pectin, vitamins A, B, C, nicotinic acid, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other elements. The iron content is two or three times higher than that of chicken and 17 times higher than that of milk. Xinjiang people love to eat cantaloupes, and it is not unreasonable to think that eating more melons can cure diseases and prolong life. Hami melon can not only be eaten fresh, but also be made into dried wax gourd, preserved honeydew melon and fruit juice. Melon seeds can be used as medicine to treat diseases, and feeding melon skin to sheep can promote fat gain. Hami melon is really a treasure of Xinjiang!
The excellent quality of cantaloupe is naturally closely related to soil, water conservancy and climate in Xinjiang, and the rich experience accumulated by farmers in Xinjiang for thousands of years is an important condition for the continuous development of cantaloupe.
In addition:
Because "Hami" is homophonic with "Harry Potter fans", some Harry Potter fans now call themselves "cantaloupe".