Central Broadcasting Network Urumqi, February 26, according to a report by China Voice of China Central Radio and Television "News", as an important node of the ancient land Silk Road , Xinjiang has special features in the ancient economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. And important status. With the exchange of commodities, the exchange of various agricultural and handicraft technologies was also realized through the land Silk Road.
Xinjiang, a cotton field waiting to be harvested (Image source: CFP)
In 1959, physical objects of cotton were discovered at the Dekuzi Sarai site in Bachu County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. These cottons were unearthed at the site. In the late Tang Dynasty, that is, about the 9th century AD, grass cotton seeds were also unearthed. This is a physical example of cotton planting in Xinjiang at that time. Today, even after more than a thousand years, we can still feel the richness, fullness and whiteness of these cotton objects at that time.
Why does Xinjiang’s cotton have good quality and high yield? What are the unique advantages? In this issue of News Geography, Pan Bo, a senior geography teacher at 130 Middle School in Urumqi, Xinjiang, reveals the mystery behind Xinjiang cotton.
In our impression, Xinjiang has few people and few products, but that is not the case. There is a data. Since 1993, Xinjiang's cotton production area, unit yield, total output, quality and export volume have all ranked first in the country.
Why is Xinjiang's cotton good? First of all, the quality is good. Xinjiang cotton has long velvet, high strength, and particularly elasticity. It can be said that the hand feel is very good, and the softness, gloss, skin-friendliness, water absorption and other aspects are very outstanding. Xinjiang cotton also has a particularly noticeable place. The cotton in our impression is white. In fact, Xinjiang also has colored cotton, including brown, light green, and light yellow cotton. Now some cotton picking industrial parks in Xinjiang specialize in the production of some colored cotton cotton textiles.
Second, Xinjiang's cotton production is very high. Xinjiang’s cotton output in 2020 is about 5.2 million tons, accounting for 87.3% of the country’s total production, which means that Xinjiang’s cotton output is far ahead in the country. Why is the output so high? From a geographical point of view, our cotton production does have its unique advantages. For example, the characteristics of cotton itself are warm and light, and the soil requirements are deep soil, easy to drain, salt-alkali and drought-tolerant. Cotton is very soft in the growth period, and it is very tender in the early growth period, so the temperature in the early growth period cannot be high, and the humidity (degree) cannot be too dry. The temperature in Xinjiang in spring is about 12°C to 14°C, which is suitable for cotton seedling emergence. At this time, spring snow-melting water is used for watering. In the growth period of cotton seedlings, the temperature has risen to more than 20 ℃. At this time, the mountain ice and snow melt water to irrigate the cotton. There is water and the temperature is suitable, which is conducive to the growth of cotton seedlings. In June and July, cotton will spit buds. The temperature in Xinjiang has reached 25°C~30°C, hot and dry. The temperature and water conditions at this time are very suitable for cotton spitting. Our Xinjiang belongs to the temperate continental climate . The summer is hot and dry, the sunshine time is long, and the temperature difference during the Tulei period is large, which is very conducive to the whole process of cotton production.
Third, in addition to the above conditions, Xinjiang has many things we can't think of. For example, Xinjiang has achieved mechanized production, and Xinjiang has national policy support. Cotton is very afraid of diseases and insect pests, but the development of the country's improved varieties, the improvement of agricultural technology and the policy support for Xinjiang have made Xinjiang's excellent cotton varieties have a very large proportion when sowing, so the overall quality of Xinjiang cotton is very good.
Of course, Xinjiang not only has cotton, but also various other rich products. Everyone is welcome to come to Xinjiang to take a look, take a look, understand the real Xinjiang, and promote Xinjiang to the world.