Jinxiang is a well-known “Hometown of Garlic” at home and abroad. “Look to China for world garlic, and look to Jinxiang for Chinese garlic.” It has become common knowledge among people, but when it comes to the history of Jinxiang garlic, There is really a little-known legend here.

According to historical records, with the prosperity of the Han Dynasty at that time, the exchanges between the Western Regions and the Han Dynasty became more and more frequent, mainly in Wusun and Dayuan (now Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan) in Central Asia at that time ) and the Parthian Empire (today's Iran). However, due to the isolation of the Huns, the exchanges between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions were interrupted for a time. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to the throne, he wanted to form an alliance with the Yuezhi people in the Western Regions to jointly fight against the Huns. However, the Western Region was far away and had to pass through areas controlled by the Huns, which was very dangerous. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered the recruitment of volunteers from all over the country to serve as envoys. In 139 BC, Zhang Qian volunteered to apply as a Langguan and shouldered the important task of being an envoy to the Yuezhi. Zhang Qian and a Huns named Ganfu, with a team of more than 100 people and a large number of gifts, set out from Longxi (today's Gansu area) and headed west.

Zhang Qian and his party lived and ate in the open and suffered hardships along the way. When they left the border fortress of Longxi County, they entered the territory of the Huns. Before they could go far, they were discovered by the Huns cavalry and forcibly detained Zhang Qian and others. At that time, due to the unsuitable climate and the poisonous food supplied by the Xiongnu, more than 70 people in Zhang Qian's party became seriously ill after eating it, with edema all over and diarrhea. More than 20 people died of poisoning. Zhang Qian was also seriously ill at that time and suffered unbearable pain. But he felt particularly sad when he saw more than 20 brothers who had shared the same brotherhood through thick and thin died one after another. Zhang Qian remembered the talisman given to him by Emperor Wu. The mission had not yet been completed. Faced with the fact that his brothers would rather starve than eat the food provided by the Huns, he was filled with grief and anger. He said to the other brothers with tears streaming down his face: "How can we, a five-foot-tall man? Can we break the promise we made to King Wu? If we want to survive, we must not let down King Wu’s great trust in us." So he led other brothers to look for something to satisfy their hunger outside the room, but after searching for a long time, they couldn't find anything to eat. , they just saw piles of wild vegetables everywhere in front and behind the house. Because they were detained in the Huhu Kingdom of the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions, everyone called it "Gourd Grass", but this was the first time they saw this wild grass. , not knowing whether he could eat it, so in desperation, Zhang Qian said to the other brothers: "Instead of starving and waiting to die, it is better to eat some "cucurbits" first to reduce the pain of starvation, and then think of other ways." Everyone saw that Zhang Qian took the lead. They all started to eat. At first they felt a little spicy when they ate the "cucurbit" leaves. However, as everyone refused to eat for several days, their hunger was really unbearable. After a few more bites, they no longer felt the spicy taste. After everyone ate it, a miracle happened the next day. Some brothers' edema was reduced and their diarrhea was cured. Everyone regarded the "cucurbit" as a life-saving grass. Later, everyone simply called the "cucurbit" the "cucurbit" tied into. have eaten.

After "Calculus" saved Zhang Qian, Zhang Qian was detained by the Xiongnu for more than ten years. He kept "Calculus" with him all the time. He felt that "Calculus" was his savior, as long as he kept it with him every day. If you insist on taking a bite of "gourd grass", you will turn danger into safety. In 127 BC, after Zhang Qian returned to China with his beloved "gourd", he specially sent people to buy fertile land and invited the famous "Tian Xiucai" at that time to plant "gourd". However, due to the cold weather north of Beijing, it was not suitable for "gourd" cultivation, so the "gourds" produced are smaller in size and of poorer quality. Things are rare and valuable, and because he brought very few "gourd" seeds at that time, he regarded the "gourd" harvested every year as a treasure, which only the emperor could enjoy. Later, after Queen Xiaoxuanxu entered the palace, she tasted cold dishes made with "gourd", which had a very unique taste. Later, Xu Er, a relative from her hometown of Shanyang County (today's Jinxiang), entered the palace. In order to show that she enjoyed all the glory and wealth in the palace, Queen Xu said she wanted to eat two "gourds" and asked a waiter to bring them. Xu Er asked Xu Er to take two heads of garlic away, hoping that the people in his hometown in Shanyang County would also taste this worldly treasure. How could the people in my hometown be willing to taste the "treasure" given by the queen herself? They put this treasure in the hall and worshiped it every day. After a few months, they found that the "treasure" had grown roots. Xu Er's family was delighted, thinking that the gods had appeared and the "treasure" was willing to take root in their home, and their family would become prosperous. Xu Er believes that all things in the world are born from soil, so all things can prosper. If you want this baby to settle here for a long time, you must choose a fertile land for him.

Xu Er was also a big family in Shanyang County at that time, owning thousands of hectares of fertile land. He specially invited a famous Feng Shui master at that time. The master believed that the sun of Shanzhi (today's Ma Temple and Yushan area in Jinxiang) had sufficient sunshine, fertile land, and good weather. It is suitable for "gods" to live here. Xu Er specially set aside hundreds of hectares of fertile land for this purpose, held a major ceremony to escort the "god" to settle down, and invited the most famous "Tian Xiucai" and "local expert" at the time to serve the "god". Under the careful care of Xu Er and others, the "spirit" grew vigorously, and the next year it produced a "gourd" several times larger than the original. When drinking water, remember the man who dug the well. How could Xu Er forget the gift of Queen Xu? He took his luggage and rode a fast horse to deliver the latest "treasure" to the palace. It happened that Queen Xu was having lunch. Queen Xu saw that the tribute sent from her hometown was big and white, and said happily: "It's so big. It's so white." Where is the 'gourd'? It looks like a fat baby." He tasted it casually and found that it did have the taste of "gourd". Taking another bite, she felt that it was juicy, pure and spicy, crispy and delicious. "Gourd" tastes much better. As she carefully savored the lingering fragrance, she nodded with a smile and said, "It tastes really good!" Suddenly, she turned around and asked the guard standing next to her, "What is this thing called?" The guard just saw the expression on Queen Xu's face after eating the tribute, and thought that this food must be delicious. Seeing the characteristics of the tribute, he was concentrating on calculating how many petals to use for this tribute, when Queen Xu suddenly asked, He didn't hear clearly and thought the queen was asking what he was doing, so he replied casually: "Forget it~!" "Oh, this is called garlic. It's really big and tastes good. I'll give this garlic a taste, too. It's really good!" From then on! , the palace called the "treasure" abundant in Shanyang County "garlic". The people of Shanyang County knew that their "baby" was named "garlic" by the queen. From then on, the people of Shanyang County were proud of "garlic" and took more care of the growth of garlic. Therefore, from now on, when garlic is written in Chinese characters , there are still two ways of writing "gourd" and "garlic".

In the following years, Jinxiang people continued to plant garlic, but the area was not large. Because garlic had an unbearable odor, garlic was regarded as something to be kept away from by the upper class, and it was also favored by Buddhism. As a result, garlic was considered an unclean thing, and garlic began its period of suffering. Until the 1980s, with the continuous development of science and technology, garlic was widely used in food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, daily chemicals and other fields, bringing unprecedented opportunities to the development of Jinxiang garlic. Jinxiang's unique natural conditions, scientific and effective cultivation and planting methods, excellent quality and unique characteristics mean that the garlic produced not only has outstanding characteristics such as large white skin, strong juicy flavor, pure spiciness and rich nutrition, but also It is rich in more than 20 nutrients such as selenium, iron, and potassium that the human body needs. It is called the best "natural antibiotic" food and anti-cancer food by experts. At present, Jinxiang garlic has developed into a country with the largest planting area, the highest unit yield and total output in the country, the largest single garlic head in the country, the highest export qualification rate in the country, the largest export volume in the country, the highest medicinal value in the country, the highest nutritional value in the country, and professional garlic wholesale. The market is the largest in the country, the refrigeration capacity of garlic and other agricultural products is the largest in the country, and the county-level ownership of garlic export enterprises is the largest in the country. Jinxiang garlic is recognized as a "China Well-known Trademark" by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and is recognized by the European Union as an EU geographic Labeled protective products, exported to more than 150 countries and regions, accounting for 70% of China's total exports, and earning more than 200 million US dollars in foreign exchange annually, Jinxiang garlic has truly become a dazzling "business card" of Jinxiang.