Tongling Ramie

Tongling Ramie

　　Tongling ramie was historically acclaimed as the “King of Ramie.” It is also one of Tongling’s Eight Treasures, which include gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, ginger, hemp seeds, and garlic. Historical records such as the *Tongling County Annals* indicate that ramie has been a traditional specialty of Tongling. In the 14th year of the Shunzhi era during the Qing Dynasty (1655 AD), various types of ramie—such as green ramie, jute, white ramie, and kudzu ramie—were cultivated in the county, primarily distributed across low mountainous and hilly areas, with a concentration in towns such as Jinlang, Zhongming, Xinqiao, Zhucun, and Dongdian. By the mid-1980s, Tongling’s ramie textiles were in high demand both domestically and internationally, and the local textile industry was experiencing significant growth, leading to a sharp increase in demand for ramie. As a result, the price of ramie rose from 3 yuan per kilogram to 13–20 yuan. Many farmers cleared mulberry fields and grain paddies to plant ramie, causing a rapid expansion in ramie cultivation. The land in Tongling proved suitable for cultivating all premium varieties of ramie, and elite strains such as Luzhuqing and Yuanyeqing were further refined in the region. By 1986, the total area under ramie and other bast fiber crops in Tongling County exceeded 7,000 mu, including over 7,000 mu of ramie, bringing the total area for all bast fibers to more than 20,000 mu. Just a year later, in 1987, the ramie cultivation area increased by another 7,081 mu, with ramie alone covering 7,032 mu, bringing the total to over 28,000 mu. At this point, Tongling’s ramie cultivation techniques and production scale had made it the largest base in China—and indeed the world. This marked the golden age of Tongling’s ramie industry. Tongling ramie boasts advantages such as a coarser texture, sturdier structure, more elegant appearance, lighter weight, superior breathability, and natural antibacterial properties. Its excellence and unique characteristics are unmatched by ordinary ramie. Today, Tongling is home to [Anhui’s largest ramie textile enterprise], whose overall economic strength ranks among the top in China’s ramie textile industry. In 1999, at the China International Textile Expo, the company’s linen products were honored as part of the “Top Ten Chinese Brand Lineups.”