Giant farm produce from China’s Shandong province has astonished Chinese Internet users after a video of sweet potatoes bigger than a human head went viral.

The eastern province is the country’s biggest agricultural exporter and famed for having China’s tallest people; it has now become one of the most searched topics on mainland social media in recent days as news of its giant fruit and vegetables spread.

The average height of Shandong men at working age was 175.36cm and that of women was 163.73cm, according to a 2019 report based on data collected from local job-hunting site qlrc.com.

As for nationwide figures, the most recent available data came from a 2015 State Council report - 167.1cm for men and 155.8cm for women.

From steamed bun the size of a human face to spring onions taller than an adult, Chinese web users have shared online the stunningly big food they seldom see in other parts of China. Some speculated it was a result of various factors including climate and dietary habits.

The excitement began when a woman, surnamed Huan, shared a video of sweet potatoes weighing up to 10kg and larger than a human head being sold on a street in Jining, a city in Shandong, on the weekend.

“We Shandong people often have a relatively bigger figure. The spring onions here are taller, and everything is bigger. But I haven’t seen such big sweet potatoes,” Huan told Jiupai News.

“I was amazed. They’re just unbelievably big,” she said.

Gao Limin, a researcher at the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said large farm produce including apples, radishes and spring onions are common in the province thanks to the choice of species and climate.

“In the past, food supply in winter here in the north was short, so we preferred big-size produce which was easier to store, but with transport and facilities improved today, this need has reduced,” she told the South China Morning Post.

“The majority of the market produce is still of a normal size. Those extra big ones are sold more to cater for people’s curiosity,” she said.

Gao said it’s unclear whether any of the giant fruit and vegetables are genetically modified or what kind of fertilisers and other chemicals are being used in their production.

According to existing regulations, Chinese authorities have approved the commercial planting of only two GM crops - cotton and papaya.

GM rice and corn, two staple foods for the Chinese population, are being planted under trials, but are not currently allowed to be grown commercially.

Wang Saishi, who specialises in food culture at the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, told Jimu News that larger-sized produce has long been one of the noticeable features of Shandong-grown food.

“Shandong people are taller, bigger, and stronger. They eat relatively more, so people would prefer large portions of food and dishes served also tend to be larger,” he explained.

 - SCMP