tourism

Known as a local speciality since ancient times, the Songchon chestnut  is a delicious, late-ripening variety belonging to the Pyongyang chestnut. It is easy to peel off its inner skin.

It is widespread in the Songchon area of South Phyongan Province. It grows slowly and its side branches and twigs tend to droop. It has relatively high resistance to cold.

Registered as a living monument, the tree is believed to have been planted in around 1947. 

The Songchon chestnut tree is 12 metres tall on average, 1.5 metres round at the root neck, 1.3 metres round at the chest height, and 10 metres wide at the crown. 

Flowers bloom from mid-June to the end of the month, and the fruits ripen between late September and early October. 

A round and small chestnut-burr mostly contains three chestnuts and sometimes two. 

The starch content of dried chestnut is 64.5%, the sugar content 13.4%  and protein content 9.6%. 

The Songchon chestnut is a living monument of academic and economic significance.