Harvest season has a new headline in Changshu: a more-than-20-year-old grapevine at a local family farm has set a fresh record with 1,369 grape bunches, topping last year’s 1,345. Neatly draped like a green umbrella, the venerable plant now sprawls across some 180 square metres, heavy with fruit.

The farm treats each cluster like a VIP. Every bunch passes at least three rounds of manual selection—from fruit set to ripeness—to ensure the shapes are even and sugar levels meet standards.

It’s a hands-on choreography of care: spring bud-thinning, summer disease prevention, autumn fertilizing, and winter pruning. The grower even reserves just one bunch per shoot and feeds the roots with a custom organic nutrient mix delivered through buried tubing.

The result? A tidy blend of traditional craft and careful management — and a grapevine that keeps rewarding patience with plenty of sweetness.