The agricultural county will use square watermelons and a type of watermelon that is grown in bags hung in the air rather than on the ground to attract foreign visitors’ attention at the food fair, said Liu Cheng-chang, head of the county’s agricultural department.

The food fair, the largest of its kind in Asia, will be held at the Taipei World Trade Center June 18-21.

According to the creators of the watermelons — a father and son named Liao Kun hai and Liao Wen-bin — square watermelons, will be sold with laser inscriptions of Chinese characters expressing good wishes.

At this year’s watermelon festival organized by the county government May 17, Liao Wen bin won five awards for the quality and uniqueness of his watermelons.

Liao Wen-bin explained that he and his father first began growing square watermelons in 2004 and have developed three different types, one of which can be used as a household decoration for as long as one year.

They said they have already received orders for the watermelons from Singapore and want to export the fruit to other countries.

According to Liu, the county government promoted Yunlin products in Macau in April and at supermarkets in Taipei in May.

The county government will launch similar promotional efforts in Beijing in July, in the southeastern Chinese Province of Fujian in September and in Singapore in November, Liu added.

Subscribe to The China Post and save.  Click hereSharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 800 characters max

Receive China Post promos

Respond to this email