People are buying watermelons at a bazaar on May 13, 2025 in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province. Photo: VCG

As a popular summer treat, watermelons are highly favored by consumers. The strong market demand has boosted a new profession known as "watermelon inspectors." The quality of watermelons they inspect generally meets a standard of over 95 percent, according to CCTV News.

When selecting watermelons, the most common method is tapping them to listen to the sound, as people want to avoid buying unripe ones, CCTV reported.

Nanwangdian Town in Heze, East China’s Shandong Province, has the reputation of “watermelon town.” In May, the town's 25,000 acres of watermelons hit the market early, attracting buyers from across China. This is also the busiest time of the year for watermelon inspectors, reported CCTV.

Xie Yunqing, a manager at the Nanwangdian watermelon market, said that the watermelons sold by different vendors are quite similar, making it difficult for buyers from afar to select the best ones.

Wan Hongchun, a buyer from Zhejiang Province, has been purchasing watermelons in Nanwangdian for three years. To tackle the challenge of selection, her strategy is to book a local intermediary company in advance to secure a watermelon inspector. These inspectors can identify watermelons with high sweetness and excellent taste. "The quality of watermelons they inspect generally exceeds 95 percent."

Using the technique of "observing, touching, and listening," Ma Qi, a watermelon inspector with five years of experience, can quickly assess a watermelon's ripeness, sweetness, and texture, ensuring quality for both buyers and consumers, CCTV reported.

Ma said that inspectors begin work at 6 am and continue through 8 pm, inspecting around 15-20 tons of watermelons per day.

Wu Zhilun, another inspector, told CCTV that the job is demanding. A skilled inspector must possess extensive knowledge of watermelon cultivation, understand growth cycles and varietal characteristics, and also accumulate experience through long-term practice to accurately judge quality.

The emergence of watermelon inspectors helps create new job opportunities. Wu said.

"Before becoming an inspector, I grew watermelons or worked outside town. Now, my income is generally higher, and it’s more convenient since I’m closer to home. The more you work, the more you earn. It’s possible to make even 1,000 yuan ($138) a day. This profession is becoming more structured which will only improve."

In recent years, Nanwangdian has prioritized watermelon cultivation as a distinctive and competitive industry, building Heze's largest production hub for early-spring watermelons. This year, the town’s planting area reached 25,000 acres, with an expected annual output of 125,000 tons and a projected value of approximately 370 million yuan, CCTV reported.

Global Times