| Abstract: | 'When the apples in Aksu turn red, the whole country's apples are ripe." This is a prov-erb often quoted by fruit growers in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Apples in other parts of China tend to be picked in August and September, while those in Aksu Prefecture, the main apple-planting area in Xinjiang, are picked at the end of October.
As the temperature there drops sharply in autumn, the sugar inside the apples condenses rapidly, forming the "crystal sugar heart" unique to Aksu apples. In 2020, apple cultivation in the prefecture reached 25,300 hect-ares, yielding a total annual output of 795,800 tons, and a value of more than 3 billion yuan ($468.9 million). |
