Ophiopogon japonicus from Wanzai

Wanzai Lily

Wanzai Lily is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　 Lily

　　 Lily is a renowned local specialty of Wanzai. With over 500 years of cultivation and processing history, Wanzai lily—especially the Longya Lily—is particularly famous throughout history. Since the Song Dynasty, Wanzai Longya Lily powder has been an imperial tribute through successive dynasties. The underground bulb of the lily is rich in starch, protein, fat, as well as various vitamins and minerals essential to the human body. According to traditional medical texts such as "Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber," "Compendium of Materia Medica," and the "Chinese Pharmacopoeia," lilies have numerous health benefits including moistening the lungs and relieving cough, calming the mind and improving sleep, regulating the spleen and strengthening the stomach, tonifying the middle and benefiting qi, promoting urination and bowel movements, detoxifying swellings, and stopping bleeding. Modern medical research has confirmed that compounds in lilies such as colchicine and colchicoside exhibit significant inhibitory effects on human cell mitosis, and have evident therapeutic effects against cancer cells and acute gout. Lilies can also be used to extract pharmaceuticals such as glucose and quinine.

　　 Longya Lily is a traditional product of Wanzai County. It features large size, long petals, thick flesh, solid core, white color, delicious taste, high nutritional value, and obvious medicinal efficacy. According to tests conducted by the Jiangxi Testing Station, every 100 grams of lily contains 65% water, 23.8% carbohydrates, 5.9% total dietary fiber (including 4.8% pectin, 4% protein, 0.1% fat, 1.1% moisture, 0.9% calcium, 0.09% iron, and 132 kilocalories of energy). Therefore, lily is a green health food that combines both food and medicine.

　　 Varieties and Breeding – Wanzai County mainly cultivates Longya Lily, supplemented by Medicinal Lily and Single-heart Lily. Jiangsu Yixing (Medicinal Lily), Gansu Lanzhou (Sweet Lily), and Jiangxi Wanzai (Longya Lily) are recognized as the three major lily production areas in China. Hence, Wanzai has long been known as the “Hometown of Lily.” Initially, farmers only used traditional methods, planting with small bulbs as seeds. Year after year, these seed bulbs would differentiate and mutate, affecting yield. Later, farmers gradually started propagating using lily scales, but this method took three years before the scales could be used as seeds—far from meeting planting needs. To solve the breeding challenge, Wanzai collaborated with relevant municipal scientific research institutions to develop virus-free tissue culture via lily slice division and tube cultivation, as well as “two-stage breeding” and “two-stage method” seed cultivation techniques, achieving very positive results. The “two-stage method” reduced the seed development cycle from three years to one, with a seed formation rate exceeding 75%. This technique won the Third Prize for Technological Progress at the municipal level. The introduction, experimentation, and promotion of new technologies laid a solid foundation for the large-scale development of Longya Lily in Wanzai County.

　　 Cultivation Area – The industrialization project of Longya Lily was implemented step-by-step starting in April 1996. In August of the same year, the Wanzai County Special Agricultural Longya Lily Project Construction Leading Group was established along with its office. In April 1998, the Wanzai Lily Development Corporation was formed, treating the industrialization of Longya Lily as a key strategy, leading to significant growth in lily production. In the year prior to project implementation, the county’s lily cultivation area was less than 800 acres. By 1997, it had reached 3,500 acres, yielding 2,249 tons with a production value of 13.44 million yuan and a comprehensive output value of 17.99 million yuan, spread across seven townships. In 1998, the cultivation area grew to 7,254 acres, producing 5,438 tons with a production value of 30.04 million yuan and a comprehensive value of 36.92 million yuan. In 1999, the area expanded to 16,500 acres, yielding 12,375 tons, with a production value of 66.875 million yuan and a comprehensive value of 71.64 million yuan. By 2000, the cultivation area reached 17,300 acres, producing 12,975 tons with a comprehensive value of 80.933 million yuan. All 21 townships in the county grew lilies, with every household participating. There emerged three townships with over 1,000 acres, five villages with over 200 acres, and 97 specialized households with over 10 acres. Over 40% of households in the county—more than 4,600 families—cultivated lilies. Due to market contraction, starting in 2001, the total lily cultivation area stabilized at around 5,000 acres, producing 3,750 tons with a production value of 15 million yuan and a comprehensive value of 24.076 million yuan.

　　 The Longya Lily Industrialization Project of Wanzai County received attention and support from central, provincial, and regional authorities. In April 1996, the Ministry of Finance provided a low-interest loan of 5 million yuan. The province and region respectively included it in the “Ninth Five-Year Plan and Tenth Five-Year Plan” characteristic agriculture “241” development plan and as one of six key projects in characteristic agriculture.

　　 Production, Processing, and Sales – In 1996, Wanzai County Longya Lily Health Food Co., Ltd. invested 1.5 million yuan in technological upgrades, introducing a fully enclosed, dust-free, sterile, and automated production line. The company expanded its factory, built a fresh-keeping warehouse, and upgraded drying equipment, increasing daily processing capacity from 0.5 tons to 1.2 tons of lily powder. In 1998, the Grain Bureau invested over 1 million yuan to establish one lily powder and one lily noodle production line. Wanzai County Lily Development Corporation invested over 500,000 yuan to add a lily powder production line, while Lily Food Co., Ltd. invested over 2 million yuan to set up a lily beverage production line. These production lines significantly enhanced processing capabilities, putting lily processing in Wanzai on a virtuous cycle and greatly increasing the added value of lilies. Annual production reached over 110 tons of lily powder, over 200 tons of lily noodles, and over 1,000 tons of lily beverages, with a total output value of 23.7 million yuan. From 1996 to the present, lily processing has developed into six major series: lily powder (crystal), lily noodles, lily wine, lily cake, lily beverages, totaling over 20 varieties. Lily packaging technology has continuously improved, and quality has steadily risen. Green foods are increasingly favored by consumers. Lily powder is exported to Japan, dried lily slices to Southeast Asia, and lily series products along with fresh lilies are sold nationwide.

　　 Folk Production and Sales – In addition to the above three major factories, there are 16 folk processing plants, with an annual output value of over 10 million yuan from lily series products. Products are sold nationwide, primarily through self-production and self-sales.

　　 Awards and Recognition – Through years of development and construction, the Wanzai Lily industry has achieved satisfying results. In May 1996, the comprehensive development of lilies and its series of products were honored as outstanding projects at the “10th Anniversary of the Spark Program and the Expo of Agricultural Science and Technology Achievements during the Eighth Five-Year Plan” hosted by the State Science and Technology Commission. In December 1998, Jiangxi Longya Lily Health Food Co., Ltd. was named an Advanced Enterprise during the 10th Anniversary of the Jiangxi Spark Program. In April 1999, Longya Lily Powder (Crystal) was awarded the Gold Award at the “99 Jiangxi Township Enterprise Famous, Special, and New Products Exhibition.” In December 1999, Wanzai Lily Development Corporation received a Participation Award at the “99 Kunming International Horticultural Exposition” in China. In March 2001, Wanzai Longya Brand Lily Powder and Instant Lily Powder were certified as Grade A Green Food products by the China Green Food Development Center. In October 2001, Wanzai Lily was certified as Organic Food by the National Eco-Certification Center. In 2003, the national-level agricultural standardization demonstration project for lilies passed national acceptance. In 2003, Wanzai Lily cultivation techniques passed provincial-level acceptance.