Zhushan Belly-Bark

Zhushan Belly-Bark

Zhushan Belly-Bark is a protected geographical indication product.

Zhushan Belly-Bark is an agricultural geographical indication product.

　　Zhushan Belly-Bark

　　Zhushan County is known as the “Hometown of Belly-Bark in China,” with a climate that is highly conducive to the growth of belly-bark trees. Since the 1960s, the county has focused on developing this unique forestry specialty resource industry. It has implemented a range of measures to speed up the construction of belly-bark production bases, cultivate and expand processing enterprises, and support companies in carrying out technological innovation and product R&D, continuously increasing the production and sales scale of belly-bark products. In recent years, through artificial cultivation, the county’s belly-bark planting area has reached nearly 50,000 mu. The value of belly-bark has also risen steadily—the purchase price was 7.6 yuan per kilogram in 1998, and soared to around 20 yuan per kilogram by 2013.

　　Belly-bark is a valuable resource. Products developed from belly-bark, such as tannic acid, gallic acid, and benzoic acid series, are widely used in fields including medicine, chemicals, electronics, food, dyeing, biology, and aerospace. To further develop this advantageous resource, the Zhushan County Forestry Bureau has collaborated with the Chinese Academy of Forestry and Hubei Academy of Forestry, continuously conducting technological research and innovation. Major research projects such as “Comprehensive Development and Utilization of Belly-Bark Resources in Zhushan County” and “New Industrial Processes for Gallic Acid Production” have been completed. A series of high-tech products have been developed, including trimethoxybenzoic acid, medicinal tannic acid, and edible tannic acid. These scientific achievements have won numerous awards, including the Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the First Prize of the Ministry of Forestry Science and Technology Progress Award, the Gold Award at the National “Seventh Five-Year Plan” Spark Science and Technology Achievements Expo, the Third Prize of the Hubei Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, the Second Prize of the Hubei Spark Science and Technology Award, and the First Prize of the Shiyan Municipal Science and Technology Progress Award.

　　Zhushan Belly-Bark is produced in 17 towns and townships in Zhushan County, Hubei Province, at elevations below 800 meters, including Chengguan Town, Pan Kou Township, Yishui Town, and others. As early as the 1950s, Zhushan County was designated by the State Council as the “Hometown of Belly-Bark.” In 2014, the total planting area in the county reached 201,000 mu, with an annual output of 500 tons. According to the “Local Chronicles of Zhushan County”: “During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican era, Zhushan Belly-Bark was a leading export product, and everyday goods for residents were balanced through trade in this product.” Testing by the Sichuan Institute for Food and Drug Control showed that Zhushan Belly-Bark not only has large size but also a high tannin content (63.6%), surpassing other domestic production areas and ranking among the best varieties in the country. It is a primary raw material for producing tannic acid, gallic acid, beic acid, and pyrobeic acid. It is not only a famous local specialty and traditional Chinese medicinal material of Zhushan, but also a traditional forestry specialty product for export trade. It is now widely used in industries such as medicine, petroleum, machinery, chemicals, light industry, bioengineering, and aerospace, and its products are exported to more than ten countries and regions, including Japan, South Korea, Belgium, Germany, and France.

　　Geographical Scope

　　Zhushan Belly-Bark is produced in 17 towns and townships in Zhushan County, Hubei Province, at elevations below 800 meters, including Chengguan Town, Pan Kou Township, Yishui Town, Majiadu Town, Baofeng Town, Leigu Town, Qin Gu Zhen, Zhuping Township, Desheng Town, Damiao Township, Wenfeng Township, Shuangtai Township, LouTai Township, Shenhe Township, Shangyong Town, Guandu Town, and Liulin Township. Zhushan County is located at the southern foot of the Wudang Mountains in the Qinba Mountainous region of northwestern Hubei. It borders Fang County to the east, Zhuxi to the west, the Shennongjia Forest District and Chongqing’s Wuxi to the south, and Shaanxi’s Baihe County to the north. The county’s highest elevation is 2,740.2 meters, and the lowest is 220 meters. Its geographical coordinates are between 109°33′–110°26′ east longitude and 31°30′–32°37′ north latitude. The area is shielded by the Qinba and Wudang mountain ranges, forming a northern subtropical monsoon climate with transitional characteristics between north and south. The significant variation in altitude results in distinct microclimates. The vegetation cover is good, with a forest coverage rate of 68.2%. The county spans 81.8 km from east to west and 123.5 km from north to south, covering a land area of 3,586 square kilometers. The forestry land covers 4.236 million mu, of which the production area for Zhushan Belly-Bark is 201,000 mu, with an annual output of 500 tons.