Lichuan Coptis

Lichuan Coptis

Lichuan Coptis is a geographical indication protected product.

Lichuan Coptis is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Enshi is rich in medicinal herbs, mainly including Lichuan Coptis, Yaogui, Banparty, Angelica, Gastrodia, Fritillaria, and Notoginseng, among which Lichuan Coptis is the most famous. Coptis is cold in nature and bitter in taste, with functions such as purging fire and detoxifying, clearing heat and drying dampness. It is primarily used to treat high fever with restlessness, chest tightness and vomiting, as well as diarrhea and dysentery. Lichuan City has a late spring, cool summer, early autumn, and cold winter, with abundant rainfall and less sunshine, providing unique natural conditions for the growth of Coptis. The cultivation of Coptis in Lichuan has a history of over 300 years, making it an important production area for Coptis in China.

　　China is the earliest country in the world to cultivate Coptis, and Hubei Province’s Lichuan City has nearly 1,000 years of cultivation history, historically known as China’s “Hometown of Coptis.” The Coptis produced in Lichuan is shaped like chicken claws, hence called “Lichuan Coptis,” and is renowned for its top-quality medicinal properties nationwide. It is also known as Nan’an Weilian and is considered a premium variety among Coptis types.

　　　　Lichuan Coptis is shaped like chicken claws, with rhizomes clustered together, yellow, plump, and firm. As early as the Tang Dynasty, it was listed as a tribute. In 1985, Lichuan was designated as a Coptis base county by the Hubei Provincial Planning Commission and appointed by relevant national authorities as a national Coptis production base.

　　　　Lichuan is located in the southwestern corner of Hubei Province, belonging to the northeastern extension of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the remnants of the Daba Mountain Range, and the northwestern part of the Wuling Mountain Range, covering an area of 4,602 square kilometers. The city has an average elevation of 1,100 meters, with the highest point being Han Chi in the northeast at 2,415 meters above sea level, and the lowest point being the exit of the Yu River in Changshun in the southwest at 315 meters above sea level. Lichuan lies in the transitional zone between mid-subtropical and north subtropical regions, featuring a subtropical continental monsoon climate. Compared to plains at the same latitude, it has distinct mountainous climatic characteristics—lower elevations have four distinct seasons, warm winters and hot summers, long frost-free periods, while higher elevations have late springs and early autumns, humid and rainy conditions, long winters and short summers. The annual average temperature is 8–12°C, with annual sunshine hours of 1,278, annual rainfall of 1,500 mm, and a frost-free period of 190 days.

　　　　Lichuan City has carried out extensive, arduous, and highly effective scientific research and technology promotion work for Coptis production, making it the birthplace of new Coptis cultivation technologies in China, a demonstration site for ecological protection of Coptis production areas nationwide, and the authentic origin of China’s “Nan’an Weilian.”

　　　　According to the *Compendium of Famous Towns in China*, Lichuan’s abundant production of “chicken claw Coptis” is exported to Japan, Europe, and the United States. At the first China Agricultural Products Regional Public Brand Construction Forum held by the Information Center of the Ministry of Agriculture at the end of 2009, the brand value of “Lichuan Coptis” was evaluated at 599 million yuan by the China Agricultural Products Regional Public Brand Value Evaluation Research Group, ranking 89th among the top 100 branded agricultural products in China. There are many suitable areas for Coptis cultivation in Lichuan, but the most ideal are the high-altitude regions of Jiannan Town, Moudao Town, Wangying Town, Zhonglu Town, Liangwu Township, and Fubaoshan Ecological Development Zone, at elevations between 1,200 and 1,800 meters. By the end of 2008, Lichuan had a total retained Coptis planting area of 98,000 mu, accounting for 54% of the national total, with the Coptis industry generating a total income of 270 million yuan.

　　　　Currently, 14 out of the 15 townships in Lichuan produce Coptis. Major production bases include five townships and development zones: Jiannan, Wangying, Moudao, Zhonglu, and Fubaoshan, involving 110 villages, 970 villager groups, and over 30,000 farming households cultivating Coptis. In 2009, the total income of the Lichuan Coptis industry was 400 million yuan, including 230 million yuan for Coptis farmers, 100 million yuan for sales enterprises, and 70 million yuan for processing enterprises. Among them, Lichuan Xianglian Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. can be described as having a “first-mover advantage,” using Coptis as a raw material for processing traditional Chinese patent medicines. It passed the national “GMP” certification in 2004, and its processed product “Xianglian Tablets” is a nationally protected traditional Chinese medicine and an emergency reserve drug. Lichuan Qingjiang Coptis Development Co., Ltd. is a professional traditional Chinese medicinal company primarily engaged in Coptis cultivation, integrating planting, processing, and sales. The company currently has a total base area of over 4,000 mu, including 1,500 mu of retained Coptis area, with products mainly consisting of whole Coptis, branch Coptis, and Coptis slices, sold to medicinal markets and processing enterprises in Wuhan, Bozhou, and Anguo.

　　　　Currently, the retained Coptis planting area in Lichuan is approximately 50,000 mu. Since the promotion of Professor Xu Jintang’s “eco-energy-saving Coptis cultivation technology,” known as the “sage of Coptis,” the area has grown by 10,000 mu annually since 2001. It is expected that by 2010, the retained area will reach 100,000 mu, with an annual output exceeding 4,000 tons, generating output value of over 200 million yuan and increasing farmers’ income by about 120 million yuan.

　　Geographic Scope

　　　　　Lichuan Coptis, shaped like chicken claws and also called Nan’an Weilian, is a premium variety of Coptis. With over 300 years of cultivation history in the region, it is said that Beijing Tongrentang once used Lichuan Coptis as a raw material. In 1976, Lichuan was designated as a national Coptis production base.

　　Specific Quality

　　　　 Currently, the Lichuan Coptis base has an annual retained area of 40,000 mu, with an output of 1,400 tons, ranking first in quality nationwide and second in annual output after Chongqing Shizhu, placing it second nationwide. Traditional Chinese medicine tablets such as “Huanglian Tablets,” produced from this, have unique efficacy in treating enteritis and dysentery.

　　Cultural Anecdotes

　　　　　　The *Lichuan County Annals · Volume Seven · Chapter on Products* records: “Coptis is abundantly produced here, with those resembling chicken legs being of superior quality.” This indicates that during the Tusi system period of the Ming Dynasty, Coptis was already widely cultivated in Lichuan, with standards for distinguishing quality. In fact, from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, Coptis was an important local product in Lichuan and used as a tribute. After the Qing Dynasty, the Coptis cultivation area gradually increased.