Mapu Chinese Yam

Mapu Chinese Yam

Mapu Chinese Yam is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Chinese yam, also known as Dioscorea opposita or white yam, is both a health food and a valuable medicinal herb. The Mapu Township has a long history of cultivating Chinese yam. Farmers make full use of the area’s unique natural advantages—most of the land consists of low hills above 300 meters in elevation with significant diurnal temperature variation, good wind protection and frost resistance, and deep red sandy loam soil—to develop the cultivation of Chinese yam on a large scale. In recent years, farmers in villages such as Dalun, Wuluo, Jianhe, and Shishitou have formed sizable Chinese yam plantations. The township now has 12,000 mu of Chinese yam cultivation area, involving over 3,000 farming households, and has gradually established one large-scale Ke’liao plantation base of 10,000 mu, along with four demonstration areas of 100 mu each in Cuxi, Jianhe, Shishitou, and Qingmei.

　　Yunxiao County is located between latitude 23°45′ to 24°14′ N and longitude 117°7′ to 117°23′ E, featuring a South Asian tropical maritime climate with abundant rainfall, ample sunshine, rich heat, and large daily temperature variations. Cold waves are rarely able to invade during winter. The county has abundant high-quality water resources. Its natural soils are mainly composed of pelitic rock lateritic red soil, acidic rock lateritic red soil, yellow lateritic red soil, and pelitic rock red soil, supporting diverse vegetation. Yunxiao County is the only county on the mainland of Fujian Province that has never recorded an extreme minimum temperature below 0°C (excluding Xiamen Island and Dongshan Island). Situated along the coast and backed by mountains with a facing sea, the region remains moist but not dry in winter, with an average annual temperature of 21.4°C, which is highly conducive to the growth and development of vegetables.

　　Mapu Township in Yunxiao County offers excellent natural conditions for Chinese yam cultivation: the terrain mainly consists of low hills below 300 meters in elevation with a horseshoe shape opening to the southwest, providing wind protection and frost resistance. The soil is deep red loam, and the area houses the province’s second-largest “Fengtou Reservoir,” ensuring abundant water supply. The climate is warm with a long frost-free period and an average annual temperature of 20.9°C. These superior natural conditions are highly favorable for the growth, tuber formation, and swelling of Mapu Chinese yam.

　　After the reform and opening up in 1978, the people of Mapu Township gradually expanded the cultivation of Mapu Chinese yam as a profitable side business. Starting in 2001, the Mapu Township government promoted the cultivation of Mapu Chinese yam as a leading industry to drive rural economic development, implementing it across the entire township. The cultivation features large scale—with over 10,000 mu planted township-wide—numerous and widely distributed farmers, involving all 3,375 farming households across 28 administrative villages, and substantial total output value—with about 10,000 yuan per mu, totaling approximately 100 million yuan for the whole township. The cultivation covers 28 administrative villages including Fengtou, Baodong, Daping, Qingmei, Baifeng, Panjing, Shanjiao, Baoshi, Longjing, Kangkou, Fanglin, Shangyang, Mapu, Shiqin, Keliao, Wushikeng, Yangmei, Cuxi, Huyang, Qiaotou, Pingshui, Xi’an, Xinlou, Shigu, Shishitou, Jianhe, Wuluo, and Dalun—amounting to a total cultivation area of over 10,000 mu.

　　The Chinese yam produced in Mapu Township is of high quality and excellent taste, with white, firm flesh that is rich in fine powder, mild in flavor, high in mucilage, and has a warming and nourishing nature.