Tianxiang Vegetable

Tianxiang Vegetable

　　Tianxiang Vegetable is a herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family. It has a bitter taste, is cold in nature, non-toxic, and alkaline. Because of its bitterness, it is also known as Bitter Vegetable. Due to its distinctive odor, reminiscent of fermented sauce, it is also called Immortal Vegetable. In the folk tradition of the Dabie Mountains, it is referred to as Guanyin Vegetable; literati call it Immortal Vegetable, and during wartime, it was known as General’s Vegetable. Tianxiang Vegetable grows deep in the mountains and dense forests, with lush green and thick leaves that are fresh, tender, and delicious. Especially those that grow in deep mountain valleys and shrubs without direct sunlight have the highest nutritional and medicinal value.

　　 Tianxiang Vegetable is a miraculous plant that combines blood sugar reduction, lipid lowering, and blood pressure control. It can be used both as food and medicine. The fresh vegetable has a fragrant aroma, while the dried version boasts a unique fermented flavor. It does not attract insects, and when soaked briefly in boiling water, the fermented taste completely disappears. When consumed, it emits a refreshing fragrance, with a mildly bitter yet sweet taste, quenching thirst and relieving summer heat. Due to its unique flavor, Li Shizhen referred to it as “Heavenly Fragrance Vegetable,” hence its name. In fact, in Shangcheng folk terms, it is commonly called “Bitter Vegetable” or “Smelly Vegetable.” Its “smell” and “heavenly fragrance” are believed to ward off evil — a concentrated embodiment of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s philosophy of treating illness by supporting the healthy and expelling pathogens.

　　 Tianxiang Vegetable is native and wild in the Dabie Mountains. People there, regardless of age, all know that Tianxiang Vegetable is not only edible but also has certain medicinal properties. Before liberation, during times of drought, flood, or failed harvests, mountain farmers would pick Tianxiang Vegetable as food — it could alleviate hunger and cure illnesses. Compared to other wild vegetables, eating Tianxiang Vegetable did not cause symptoms such as body swelling, constipation, or discomfort. Therefore, it was called the “Life-Saving Vegetable” by locals. When injured by axes or bitten by insects while logging or farming, locals would crush Tianxiang Vegetable and apply it to wounds to stop bleeding and reduce swelling, hence it earned the reputation of “Guanyin Vegetable.”

　　 With social and technological advancement, understanding of Tianxiang Vegetable has deepened. It has been found to contain 18 types of amino acids and various trace elements, offering medicinal benefits such as “clearing heat, cooling blood, detoxifying, treating dysentery, jaundice, bloody stranguria, hemorrhoids, abscesses,” and more. It helps lower blood pressure, reduce blood lipids and blood sugar, effectively protect the liver, and enhance its detoxification functions, and shows significant therapeutic effects on diabetes. Health teas made from Tianxiang Vegetable are rich in vitamins and can help prevent or treat myopia and pseudomyopia.

　　 Tianxiang Vegetable also contains anti-tumor components and offers anti-cancer properties, providing auxiliary therapeutic benefits to cancer patients. In today’s society where living standards continue to rise, conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood lipids, high blood sugar, coronary heart disease, cerebral thrombosis, diabetes, childhood obesity, myopia, and tumors are common. Tianxiang Vegetable has shown significant auxiliary therapeutic effects on these conditions, thus holding high development potential.

　　 Shangcheng County seized this business opportunity in a timely manner. Starting in the early 1990s, it began developing Tianxiang Vegetable by processing harvested plants into dried versions. In 1995, a Tianxiang Tea Products Factory was established in Sanliqiao Village, Chengguan Town, producing and selling Tianxiang Tea. The Tianxiang Vegetable product — Tianxiang Tea Bags — also applied for a patent with the National Intellectual Property Administration, with patent number 01124622.7. In 2004, the tea products factory set up a branch factory for Tianxiang Vegetable products in Changzhuyuan.

　　 Thanks to the excellent quality and significant health benefits of Tianxiang Tea, coupled with effective marketing strategies, the sales of Tianxiang Tea series products have been thriving. Sales volume increased from just over a hundred pounds in the mid-1990s to nearly 60 tons per year today. Nowadays, Tianxiang series products are sold in major domestic cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and some are even brought to the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Macau, and Hong Kong by relatives and friends, showing strong growth momentum.