Food in China, taste in Bashu! Sichuan cuisine is renowned and popular worldwide. The reason for its popularity is probably due to the profound impression and endless aftertaste left by the taste of Sichuan cuisine! When it comes to the characteristics of Sichuan cuisine, some people will definitely blurt out the four words "spicy, fresh and fragrant". Spicy and fresh flavors are not unique to Sichuan cuisine, and Hunan cuisine and Guizhou cuisine are not inferior to Sichuan cuisine in terms of spiciness. As for fresh flavors, they are almost a common feature of the eight major cuisines. Therefore, the biggest characteristic of Sichuan cuisine cannot be separated from the first "Ma" character of spicy and fresh flavors.

What is hemp? Of course, it refers to the soul level seasoning of Sichuan cuisine - Sichuan peppercorns, among which Sichuan peppercorns from Chongqing Jiangjin, the hometown of Sichuan peppercorns in China, are the most authentic, because Jiangjin peppercorns have the same status in Sichuan cuisine as Douban from Pixian and pickled vegetables from Fuling, both of which are indispensable seasonings and the most important spices in Sichuan cuisine.

Sichuan pepper in Jiangjin, Chongqing has a cultivation history of hundreds of years and has become one of the important commodities exported from China to various parts of the world along with tea and ceramics. Even now, Sichuan pepper in Jiangjin enjoys a high status in the country, especially green Sichuan pepper, which accounts for 70% of the country's production.

According to local friends, more than 600000 acres of Sichuan pepper are now planted in Jiangjin, with an annual output of over 300000 tons of Sichuan pepper. The entire industry chain brings in billions of yuan in revenue, making it an important source of income for local residents.

From early June to early July is the season for harvesting green and white peppers. The largest Sichuan pepper trading market in China, the Jiangjin Sichuan Pepper Comprehensive Trading Market, also opened on June 6th. During this month or so, thousands of pepper farmers transport their own Sichuan peppers to this place for sale every day.

At the same time, buyers from all over the country will also gather here, where you can buy the highest quality Sichuan peppercorns from the country at the lowest price. This set of pictures was taken by Yufan at the Jiangjin Sichuan peppercorns market a few days ago. The picture shows a purchaser from another city carefully selecting their favorite Sichuan peppercorns.

Yufan walked past the market with a camera, and an old man said, 'Come and take a look at my Sichuan peppercorns. They are of good quality, troublesome, and affordable.' So I lifted the camera and took this photo.

There are many pepper farmers selling Sichuan peppercorns in the market, so buyers have a lot of room to choose and enjoy high bargaining power. One kilogram of dried Sichuan peppercorns only costs about 34 yuan. In the words of a pepper farmer, these buyers choose Sichuan peppercorns like picking a son-in-law.

When I passed by the uncle in the picture above, I asked him how his harvest was this year? He said his family has five acres of Sichuan peppercorns, which can be sold for more than 20000 yuan this year, much better than growing crops such as rice and corn. Then he picked up the Sichuan peppercorns and showed them to me, revealing the purest and most simple smiling face of Chinese farmers.

This uncle saw me walking past with a camera and asked if he wanted to take a picture for TV? I said I would take a photo and post it online, but he said you could take a picture of me. So I got the picture above. I grabbed a handful of Sichuan peppercorns in my right hand and a cigarette in my left hand, revealing my only remaining tooth. I had a smile on my face, which was very infectious.

The entire Sichuan pepper trading market is bustling, with large bags of Sichuan pepper circulating in the market and then piled up into small hills, waiting for the streets to be transported to various parts of the country.

There are many such screening machines on the market, and in order to sell at a good price, one must go through the screening machine to select some small branches and thorns, leaving only one Sichuan pepper grain after another. This is considered a high-quality Sichuan pepper.

A female purchaser climbed up a small hill made of Sichuan peppercorns and instructed the movers on how to place the peppercorns.

An elderly man with snow-white hair sent his two bags of Sichuan peppercorns to the designated area of the purchaser for storage. Today's Sichuan peppercorns were sold, and he can go home to continue picking Sichuan peppercorns.

Buyers follow the stalls of pepper farmers, selecting their favorite green peppers one by one. Sometimes they use tools to poke a small hole in the bag to check the quality of the Sichuan peppercorns inside, sometimes they hold a handful of Sichuan peppercorns in their hands to slowly observe, sometimes they grab a handful of Sichuan peppercorns and put them in front of their nose to smell the fragrance

Jiangjin not only has a large planting area and high yield of Sichuan peppercorns, but also has a large number of supporting enterprises. Some directly package green Sichuan peppercorns into bags, some turn them into seasonings, and some make various products such as Sichuan peppercorns oil, Sichuan peppercorns essential oil, Sichuan peppercorns cosmetics, etc.

During the mature season of pepper farming, there are no idle people in the fields. Now is the season for harvesting Sichuan peppercorns, and it is also the busy season for pepper farmers. Although there is joy in harvesting, there is also the hard work of picking under the scorching sun. Although Sichuan peppercorns are fragrant, they are full of thorns, and if you don't pay attention, your skin will be pierced. In addition, the high temperature in June in Chongqing and the unobstructed outdoor environment quickly soaked your clothes with sweat. This kind of harvest can be said to be truly tiring and happy.

Jiangjin not only has the largest and most abundant Sichuan peppercorns in China, but also the Sichuan peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorns products here are very cheap. Yu Fan saw a bottle of Sichuan peppercorns oil in a convenience store called Chufu for only 5-6 yuan, which is really unbelievable. You should know that such Sichuan peppercorns oil actually requires many processes and embodies the hard work and sweat of many pepper farmers and workers.