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  • Hi everyone. I'm Jacqueline, Hsuan-hui.

  • I'm now here at Anding District.

  • And you know,

  • Chinese soapberry is so famous here at Anding District.

  • And you see, it looks just like a kind of fruit called

  • the Dragon's eye,Longan.

  • So what is the Chinese soapberry?

  • Let's go and check it out!

  • Hi everyone, this is Mr. Wang, the owner of the company.

  • Hi! Mr. Wang.

  • Hi, Hsuan-hui

  • Hi, everyone.

  • Mr. Wang could you please give me a tour around your company?

  • Sure, I'll show you around.

  • Hsuan-hui, you can comprehend the whole working process

  • of the soapberry when you come here.

  • This is a soapberry processing factory.

  • Although it's not a tourism factory,

  • the owner of the company has set up an exhibition room

  • to help tourists know the Chinese soapberry better.

  • The soapberry trees used to be very tall.

  • They are not improved breeds.

  • Nowadays, we applied the dwarf process

  • so that they can grow faster and easier to be harvested.

  • The Chinese soapberry is indigenous to middle

  • and low altitude mountains in Taiwan.

  • Chinese soapberry trees are tall,

  • and they have an extensive root system

  • that contributes to water and soil conservation.

  • The Chinese soapberry industry is both

  • a profitable and green industry.

  • So the Chinese soapberry is very famous around here.

  • So what is the Chinese soapberry, and is it edible?

  • Longan and lychee also belong to the Euphoria family.

  • But the soapberry is not edible.

  • The peel of the Chinese soapberry can be used to make cleaning supplies

  • and pestcides.

  • The seeds can be used to extract oil

  • or to make handicrafts.

  • And what is the growth characteristic of the Chinese soapberry?

  • The Chinese soapberry can be harvested

  • after growing five or six years.

  • The flowers of the Chinese soapberry bloom in March to April,

  • and the soapberries are ready to be harvested in September to October.

  • In addition to information about the Chinese soapberry,

  • there are many special handicrafts here in the factory.

  • So what are these little black balls over here?

  • We can extract saponin from the shell of the soapberry.

  • The seeds can be made into many products and artifacts.

  • These black balls here are seeds of the Chinese soapberry.

  • The Chinese soapberry industry is indeed a green industry.

  • Nothing is wasted.

  • This is a processing factory,

  • and you can see many workers are packaging the products.

  • So this is the packaging process.

  • After visiting the factory,

  • I can't wait to find out

  • how the shell of the Chinese soapberry that looks like the longan

  • are made into detergent.

  • It is a very natural product.

  • The old

  • would put the soapberry shells

  • into this bag

  • and then we can use it for wash stuff.

  • It's better if we don't use chemical products.

  • It's not a difficult task.

  • Peel the shell in the same way as you peel a longan.

  • Put shells in a sack and rub them together.

  • When you see bubble foam,

  • your detergent is done.

  • Just by rubbing those crusts with water,

  • you can have a lot of bubbles

  • and it's just totally natural without any other thing.

  • And if you want such natural thing,

  • you can just hang it by the faucet and just add some water,

  • you can have such a piece of natural soap.

  • Since people know little about the Chinese Soapberry,

  • if you come to the factory, you can learn more from the exhibition.

  • And also experience how to use the soapberry to make some soap.

  • Back to the days when there was no detergent,

  • people used to do cleaning work with soapberry shells.

  • After chemical detergent came out,

  • soapberries were gradually forgotten.

  • The Chinese soapberry is not only harmless to humans,

  • but also good to the soil and water conservation.

  • So next time if you come to visit Anding District,

  • don't miss the Chinese soapberry factory.

Hi everyone. I'm Jacqueline, Hsuan-hui.

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