Emily Jung Miller
Hami Melon #1065 Purchase
Ninth in a series of monthly sketches exploring my Hakka Chinese heritage and personal family history through traditional, seasonal foods and recipes. I chose to paint Hami melon for June, welcoming the beginning of summer.
Growing up, I remember my Hakka mother liked the round cantaloupe normally found in American grocery stores. She chopped it into cubes to make frothy smoothies, or scooped it into perfect spheres with a melon baller if she was feeling fun and fancy. I never associated this with our Chinese heritage, but the food memory came up in my mind as I was chopping a cantaloupe recently. Out of curiosity, I looked up "Chinese cantaloupe," and discovered Hami melon. Hami melon is native to the town of Hami in central Asia, in the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains. In recent years Hami melon has become available in American grocery stores, but I don't remember seeing it in my childhood. I also discovered that melon balls are a popular presentation in Asian cultures, rather than the cubes or slices more often seen in Western cultures.
There are many varieties of Hami melons, but the one I painted was oblong and golden, with netted skin and orange flesh like a cantaloupe. It tastes like a firm, crunchy cantaloupe / honeydew.
Hami melon 哈密瓜 is hami gua in both Cantonese and Mandarin. Gua 瓜 means 'melon' (as also seen in bitter melon foo gwa or loeng gwa). The city of Hami was an important oasis site on the Silk Road. Hami melons have traveled from their native homeland to eastern China for thousands of years. They were given as tribute gifts to the Han emperor from 58-76 CE.
Growing up, I remember my Hakka mother liked the round cantaloupe normally found in American grocery stores. She chopped it into cubes to make frothy smoothies, or scooped it into perfect spheres with a melon baller if she was feeling fun and fancy. I never associated this with our Chinese heritage, but the food memory came up in my mind as I was chopping a cantaloupe recently. Out of curiosity, I looked up "Chinese cantaloupe," and discovered Hami melon. Hami melon is native to the town of Hami in central Asia, in the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains. In recent years Hami melon has become available in American grocery stores, but I don't remember seeing it in my childhood. I also discovered that melon balls are a popular presentation in Asian cultures, rather than the cubes or slices more often seen in Western cultures.
There are many varieties of Hami melons, but the one I painted was oblong and golden, with netted skin and orange flesh like a cantaloupe. It tastes like a firm, crunchy cantaloupe / honeydew.
Hami melon 哈密瓜 is hami gua in both Cantonese and Mandarin. Gua 瓜 means 'melon' (as also seen in bitter melon foo gwa or loeng gwa). The city of Hami was an important oasis site on the Silk Road. Hami melons have traveled from their native homeland to eastern China for thousands of years. They were given as tribute gifts to the Han emperor from 58-76 CE.
Watercolor, 2026
4" x 6"
Original Painting Unavailable
Purchase Hami Melon, Golden Orange Greens Art Prints:
| 5x7" Paper giclee |
$40
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| 8x10" Paper giclee |
$45
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| 11x14" Paper giclee |
$100
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| 16x20" Paper giclee |
$165
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| 12x16" Canvas wrap |
$165
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| 18x24" Canvas wrap |
$250
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Need a different size? Ask about custom print sizes and formats
Commissions to create new original artwork are currently closed. I will be reviewing my commission schedule for possible openings in January 2027.
