On October 8, during the press conference for the 16th China Jiangbei Water City – Lianghe Pearl (Liaocheng) Gourd Culture Art Festival, Xue Zhao Li, Deputy Director of the Liaocheng Municipal Publicity Department, shared exciting news about the festival. “This year, we will delve into the integration of canal cuisine and gourd banquets, creating a dining experience infused with gourd cultural elements to enhance the content of the Gourd Culture Festival,” he explained. New additions this year will include the research, promotion, tasting, and showcasing of canal gourd cultural banquets.
Gourds, recognized as auspicious symbols in traditional Chinese culture, hold significant market value due to their unique shapes and the meanings of “prosperity and good fortune” they convey. “The gourd industry is one of the most representative specialty industries in Liaocheng, with over 30,000 acres of cultivation,” Xue indicated, noting that this sector accounts for 75% of the national market share and generates an annual comprehensive benefit of about 1.6 billion RMB.
Liu Jiqiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Dongchangfu District Committee and Deputy District Chief, highlighted the rich history of Dongchang gourd carving, which spans over 500 years and is recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. “Dongchangfu District is the largest distribution center for gourds in the country, earning the title of ‘Hometown of Gourd Carving Culture and Art in China.’”
He further described how gourd artists employ various techniques such as binding, stitching, and molding during the growth of gourds to create diverse forms, transforming them into tea sets, snuff bottles, and artistic lamps. This not only enriches the cultural significance of the gourds but also enhances their market value. Moreover, these artisans combine gourd crafts with local paper-cutting and dough figurine techniques to produce both practical and decorative creative pieces, marking a shift from traditional gourd processing to culturally creative industries.
Liu added that in recent years, the district has been actively promoting the protection, inheritance, and innovation of gourd carving artistry. A new Gourd Culture Park has been constructed to create an immersive experience centered around gourd culture, featuring elements like rural memory, gourmet tribes, and local guesthouses, establishing the park as a unique rural cultural tourism destination. Additionally, the district has developed themed tourism routes such as the “Prosperity and Gourd Culture Journey” and the “Heritage Tradition Tour,” allowing visitors to explore gourd cultivation and processing parks and engage with local craftsmanship, thus paving the way for quality-driven economic growth in the gourd industry.
Hu Ruiheng, Deputy District Chief and a member of the Dongchangfu District People’s Government, stated that a professional cooperative for gourd cultivation and management has been established to unify production and sales, strengthening the industry chain. Currently, Dongchangfu District has over 4,500 registered gourd farmers and more than 1,500 processing businesses, cultivating over 30 gourd varieties across approximately 13,000 acres, with farming bases established in regions like Xinjiang, Shaanxi, and Shanxi.
As Hu pointed out, the district has embraced rapid developments in e-commerce, with more than 2,000 gourd-related online businesses. For instance, Tangyi Town’s Luzhuang Village has adopted an “Internet + e-commerce” model, where nearly every household engages in gourd cultivation and online sales. The village hosts over 300 online shops on platforms such as Taobao, Douyin, and Kuaishou, collectively selling around 7 million craft gourds annually to various international markets, including Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Southeast Asia.
“From September to October each year, numerous merchants from other regions flock to Dongchangfu District, sourcing gourd products directly from farms and markets,” Hu remarked. By leveraging its rich resources, the district is innovating its gourd cultivation, processing, and sales models, driving transformation and upgrading of the traditional gourd industry. It is establishing a comprehensive production and sales system that forms a green, circular industry chain—from seed development to gourd planting, cultural creativity, processing, and ecological tourism—bolstering economic growth in the gourd sector and empowering rural revitalization.
The 16th China Jiangbei Water City – Lianghe Pearl (Liaocheng) Gourd Culture Art Festival will take place from October 12 to October 14, featuring the theme “Discover an Extraordinary Gourd.” A multitude of events will be hosted during the festival, including a showcase of outstanding gourd works, a gourd craftsmanship competition, a cultural innovation design contest, a planting expert competition, a dialogue on high-quality development in the gourd industry, and presentations of canal gourd cultural banquets.
