The history of gourd cultivation in China is at least 7000 years. Archaeologists found 7,000-year-old gourds and seeds at Hemudu Cultural Site in Yuyao, Zhejiang, China, which is the earliest archaeological evidence of gourd cultivation in the world. There are also records about gourd in the Book of Songs and other ancient books, which shows that gourd has been widely planted and utilized in China as early as in ancient literature records.