The pineapple business in Hong Kong - any light to shed?

Hi There,

I remember in the late 1960's through late 1970's, there would be street hawkers selling locally grown pineapples in Langau Island in tourists spots like Silvermind Bay and Tung Chung.  The crops they sold were of a smaller kind of pineapple, just the size of an adult fist.  They were exceptionally sweet.  Like their present day Golden Pineapples cusins one can eat their core as well.

I have no idea of where the farms were located though.

T

Hi Patricia,

That's a new one - hadn't heard of Hong Kong as a pineapple producer before!

I skimmed the first few results at HKGRO (hkgrow?), and found:

• 1899, the first mentions of pineapples as one of the types of fruit grown in the New Territories:
  "FRUITS.
  The fruits are pumeloes, pineapples, oranges, lungngans, pears, lichis, persimmons, pomegranates, wongp’is, and mangoes.

  VEGETATION.
  The mountain ranges and lower hills are covered with vegetation, and cultivation is found high up on the hill sides. In some places a crop of rice was growing at an elevation of 1,300 feet, and on the northern slope of the Taimo Shan range tea and pineapple were observed growing at an elevation of 1,500 feet."
  Source: "Extracts from a REPORT BY Mr. STEWART LOCKHART ON THE EXTENSION OF THE COLONY OF HONGKONG." on page 535 of the Government Gazette, 8th April 1899.

• 1903, where are the cans?
  "It is a matter for surprise that no Pineapple canning factory has been set up hitherto in Hongkong, considering the large and increasing amount of this fruit produced here, and with the example of the success that has attended this industry in Singapore."
  Source: "REPORT ON THE BOTANICAL AND AFFORESTATION DEPARTMENT, FOR THE YEAR 1903." on page 1128 of THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 17th JUNE, 1904.

• 1904, improving the quality of the plants:
  "Castle Peak Estate.—A large consignment of Pineapple suckers, which were kindly sent by request from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Singapore, were divided between the Castle Peak Estate and the Government Nursery at Sookunpo. This is a better variety than any that we had previously and when the stock has multiplied sufficiently it can be distributed to the Chinese farmers."
  Source: REPORT ON THE BOTANICAL AND AFFORESTATION DEPARTMENT, FOR THE YEAR 1904.
   
• 1906, distribution:
  The thre main areas listed as producing pineapples are Au Tau, Tai Po, and Yaumati.
  Source: "RETURN OF AGRICULTURAL AND CHINESE FORESTRY" PRODUCTS IN THE NEW TERRITORIES. Approximate Quantities at the last census in 1906." on page U3 of the 1907 Blue Book.

So it was certainly an important crop, and one that was actively followed by the government at the time.

The only occurrence of "pineapple" I could think of is the Pineapple Dam at the Shing Mun reservoir. The dam is built across a small cut between two pieces of higher ground. Before the dam was built, that cut was known as Pineapple Pass. So the dam got the name from the pass, but where did the pass get its name from?

A 1929 report says:

Pineapples are grown on sheltered hillsides in different parts of the Territory, and on Tsing I Island, but the greatest quantity is grown in the valley stretching up from Tsun Wan (Tsuen Wan) to Shing Mun. This industry was taken up vigorously in the first few years of our administration, and there seemed reason to believe that a good demand for canning the fruit would spring up, but this has not been realised. The area under cultivation in 1929 was about 224 acres. For registration purposes 10,000 plants are reckoned as one acre. This gives a total of 2,240,000 pineapple plants. Assuming only one pineapple to each plant, and sale for an average price of five cents each, we get a total of $112,000 per year.
Source: page 12 of "Southern District Officer Reports: Islands and Villages in Rural Hong Kong, 1910-60" by John Strickland

As the pass was at the head of that valley, it's not surprising it was named after the main local crop. I'd always wondered where the dam got its name.

Of course, there is also Po Lo Che in Sai Kung

Thanks Jeremy, I hadn't thought of that. I recognise "Po Lo" means pineapple, but please do you know what the "Che" means?

Regards, David

David, You may not be asking the right person! I believe it means a field (a field for crops). I hope others who are better qualified to answer can confirm or not.  

 Regards, Jeremy

Hi there,

The meaning of che 輋, if a location is concerned, means somewhere close to a hill or a mountain. The word 輋 actually has multiple meaning, as in any other Chinese words.  It also the name of a minority people in Southern China.  More information could be found ini this Chinese University Link.

T

T can you help translate the Hong Kong Hotel awning here http://gwulo.com/atom/14002

Thanks for the help with translation, so Po Lo Che would be something like "Pineapple hillside" or "Pineapple slopes". I wonder if any old residents remember pineapple-growing in the area?

Regards, David

Well remember in the 1970's several hillsides on Lantau growing cultivated pineapples on a fairly large scale. It was the first time I realised that pineapples grew on the ground rather than on a  tree ! The locals also told me to be careful walking amongst them as they attracted snakes.

H.

Thanks Harry, good to get some first-hand memories of their cultivation.

I've got a copy of the Hong Kong Report for 1964 and looked to see if pineapples were mentioned. They are, but just in passing, so the high hopes from the early 1900s never came true. The 1964 mention is:

Fruit production, although not yet substantial, is expanding and includes wong pei, lung ngan, lemon, orange, tangerine, Japanese apricot, guava, papaya, lychees and pineapple. Accurate statistics are not available, but approximately 29,000 cwts of assorted fruits, valued at over $1.5 million, were harvested during the year.

Hi David,

I am reading a new book.  In Chapter 3 section 10 (Tsuen Wan) there is a section mentioning Pineapples.  It even said Pineapples in Tsuen Wan was famous.  However there are other places used more scientific method to cultivate Pineapples.  Other locations are: Taipo (Honn Lok Yuen), Fan Ling (On Lok Tsuen), Wang Chau (Yue Yuen) in Yuen Long.   At the time these places had not been redeveloped.

For Pineapple areas in Tsuen Wan, byway of volume:  Lo Wai, San Tsuen, Mok Min Ha, Sau Lai Kok.  The sectoin also mentioned those produced in Tsuen Wan are of the sweetest in town.

Highly recommended for Chinese readers.

T

That's an interesting find. I've just put down a book that mentions sugar cane as one of the main crops in the New Territories, so I wonder if the plants on Stonecutters were wild descendants of plants grown on the mainland, or signs that Stonecutters Island had been farmed at some time.

To add to the possibilities I see that the Pandanus tectorius, aka Screw Pine, is called a wild pineapple, and grows aound the shores of Hong Kong. There's always something new to discover!

I've been told of another place with "Pineapple" in the name, Por Lo Shan (菠蘿山 / Pineapple Hill) above the Shan King Estate in Tuen Mun.

Map: http://gwulo.com/map-of-places#16/22.3999/113.9627/Map_by_ESRI-Markers/100