Lincheng Jujubes

Lincheng Jujubes

　　Lincheng jujubes are a specialty of Lincheng County in Xingtai City, Hebei Province. With a long cultivation history and widespread fame, Lincheng is one of the original birthplaces of jujubes and a major source of income for farmers in the county’s primary jujube-producing areas.

　　The development of the jujube industry in Lincheng County has gone through three booms and two busts. The first occurred in the 1960s, and the second between 1986 and 1989. Due to various reasons, neither of the first two phases was sustained. In 1997, the county Party committee and government, based on extensive research into the county’s natural resources and forestry development history, decided to vigorously promote the jujube industry. On May 7, 1997, the Lincheng County Committee issued Document No. [1997]11, “Decision on Accelerating the Development of the Jujube Industry,” marking the beginning of the third phase of jujube industry development. After ten years of continuous effort, significant results were achieved: the county developed a total of 180,000 mu (approximately 12,000 hectares) of jujube orchards, with over 7 million trees mainly distributed across hilly areas including Shicheng Township, Heicheng Township, Xishu Town, Lincheng Town, Haizhuang Town, and parts of Zhaozhuang Township. In 2007, the county produced 2,080 tons of fresh jujubes, had 14 small-scale candied jujube processing plants capable of producing 500 tons of candied jujubes annually—accounting for 24% of the total fresh jujube output—with a total output value of 10 million yuan.

　　By 2009, Lincheng County had maintained 180,000 mu of jujube orchards with 7 million trees, averaging one mu of jujube forest per capita. The large-cluster-stem jujube variety was awarded the National Silver Quality Prize.