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Apples
China is one of the earliest and most important centers of origins of cultivated plants in the world. Many of the deciduous fruits such as peaches, Asian pears, apricots and plums grown today are native to China. In fact, the fruit industry ranks third in China (after grains and vegetables) and exceeds that of cotton, forestry, oil and sugarcane.
Apples lead in acreage and production and are the most important crop in China with pears, peaches, and grapes next in importance. Apples are grown on 32.66 percent of the total area of fruit cultivation and contribute 33.8 percent to the total fruit production in China. The major producing provinces are Shandong, Liaoning, Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi. Nearly 60 percent of the apples produced were Ralls Janet, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and Jonathan. Today, over 70 percent of plantings are Red Fiji, Starkrimson, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, and Gala apples.
Peaches
For peaches, there are two major groups of cultivar and ecotypes in China; the Mitao are generally cultivated in Northern China and the Shumitao peach (a.k.a., the Honey peach) is mostly grown in Southern China. Like the apple crop, North China tends to bear peaches with larger fruit and firmer flesh. The principle producing provinces are Shandong, Hebei, Shaanxi, and Gansu.
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations www.fao.org
The Great Wall between Jinshanlin and Simatai, China
