Cherry Orchard

Cherry Orchard
Resource
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Civilization	Japanese
Hit points	Indestructible
Food	5,000
Gather rate	0.67 food per second * (No. of workers)
Max. gatherers	28 (limited by space)
Notes
Built by Orchard Rickshaw

“	A beautiful Cherry Orchard which can be harvested for Food.	”
—In-game description

The Cherry Orchard is a unique source of food for the Japanese in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.

Overview

The Cherry Orchard works like a patch of Berry Bushes, as they're gathered at the same rate, and acts as a replacement for huntable animals and livestock which Japanese Villagers cannot gather food from. The Cherry Orchard starts out with 5,000 food and can only be built from its own Orchard Rickshaw, but is indestructible. A Japanese player starts with one (or two if there are no Berry Bushes near the starting Town Center) Orchard Rickshaw in every random map games and can ship six more from the Home City, giving them 35,000 (40,000) food in total.

The Cherry Orchard can prove to be a valuable asset in lieu of Rice Paddies when playing in maps lacking wood where the player wishes to conserve wood for other purposes, such as ship building and turtle strategies. Furthermore, the large amount of Orchards that can be shipped can support the player's food needs in the early Ages.

However, the Cherry Orchard requires moderate amounts of space in between each, thus requiring the player to spread out to greater extent. Players who are frequently in need of large amounts of food may not find the Cherry Orchard as a suitable source, or rather an addition to a current source as it is not infinite and can be quickly exhausted.

Only the player that owns them can gather from Cherry Orchards; allies and enemies cannot.

History

“

Since ancient times, flowers have played a meaningful part in Japanese culture, embodied in the art of flower viewing, or Hanami. It is believed that the Japanese borrowed this enjoyment of nature from the Chinese during the Nara Period (710-784), in which the Tang Dynasty heavily influenced Japanese way of life. The first flowering object of affection was the ume blossom, or the Asian plum, but over time the practice of hanami has become almost synonymous with the enjoyment of sakura, or cherry blossoms. Beginning in the Imperial Courts of Japan, events were often celebrated with festivities beneath the falling blossoms of the cherry tree. Such festivals spread to the samurai class and eventually the common people, since blossoming coincided well with the beginning of school years, fiscal schedules, and the general spring season. Even today, the weather forecast from March to early May is closely watched as it can dictate the successful planting and growth of that year's cherry blossoms.

”

Gallery

Japanese Villagers gathering from a Cherry Orchard

The Cherry Orchard's in-game history portrait

In-game Cherry Orchard in the Definitive Edition

See also

• Mango Grove