Zhuxi Huanglian

Zhuxi Huanglian

Zhuxi Huanglian is a protected geographical indication product.

　　ZhuXi County in Hubei Province was one of the first regions in China to be honored as the "Hometown of Huanglian." Over fifty years of trials and tribulations, which felt like the blink of an eye, the growing area of Huanglian in this “hometown” has expanded from less than 1,000 mu in the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China to over 7,000 mu. The cultivation of small medicinal herbs, primarily Huanglian, has reached more than 70,000 mu. Local farmers are building a new ecological and civilized countryside fragrant with medicinal blossoms, lifting themselves out of poverty and striving toward a moderately prosperous life, all while writing a new chapter of glory for the Huanglian hometown.

　　Zhuxi is located in the northern foothills of the eastern section of the Daba Mountains, bordering Shaanxi and Chongqing. It is one of the major production areas of the renowned "Qin Gui Chuan Lian" (Qin medicinal angelica and Sichuan Coptis). As early as 1956, the ZhuXi County Party Committee and County Government selected a skilled Huanglian grower— a farmer of Sichuan origin from Liushuping Village in Taoyuan Township—as a representative to attend the National Model Workers Conference. Premier Zhou personally presented the ZhuXi delegate with a brocade banner inscribed with four shining golden characters: “Hometown of Huanglian.” For half a century, this banner has inspired the people of the Huanglian hometown to build an ecological home and a land of Huanglian, actively providing raw materials for biopharmaceuticals and commercial goods, thereby increasing their income and escaping poverty.

　　ZhuXi County in the Qinba Mountainous region, according to plant surveys, is home to more than 2,200 plant species, including over 1,200 medicinal plants—hence the saying “half the vegetation in ZhuXi is medicinal.” The five townships in the southern mountainous region of ZhuXi have an average altitude of over 1,000 meters. Not only are they abundant in thousands of types of medicinal herbs, but the herbal medicines are also authentic and possess particularly potent medicinal properties. The types of Huanglian produced here—including Weilian, Chuanlian, and Foshoulian—are commonly referred to in the medical field as “Beianlian” (Northern Bank Huanglian). They feature a golden-yellow appearance, a chrysanthemum-like cross-section, and high berberine content. Recognized by pharmaceutical inspection authorities, their quality ranks first among the eight types of Huanglian in China and are classified as genuine by pharmaceutical experts. As early as the Ming and Qing dynasties, ZhuXi Huanglian was exported to Southeast Asia. Since the 1970s, it has been an important organic agricultural export product to Japan, Southeast Asia, and other regions. In 1978, during the reform and opening-up period, ZhuXi purchased 34,300 kilograms of Huanglian and exported 30,000 kilograms—the highest historical record.

　　To add luster to the “Hometown of Huanglian” banner, the ZhuXi County Party Committee and County Government instilled in farmers the concepts of market economy principles such as quality efficiency, brand value, and integrity in business. They guided farmers to explore market trends and adopt strategies for safe, pollution-free, green, and organic agricultural products with development potential—such as Huanglian—by not chasing trends blindly when prices are high nor abandoning them when prices are low. Instead, they practiced moderate-scale production and management, using methods such as adjusting growth cycles and waiting for better prices to leverage market timing and price differences, thus gaining the upper hand in minimizing losses and maximizing profits. When Huanglian prices hit rock bottom, farmers went against the trend by leaving mature Huanglian in the sheds for delayed harvesting and expanding the scale of Huanglian seedling cultivation. When market prices rebounded, they timely harvested 5 to 7-year-old fully grown premium Huanglian, dried and sold it at superior prices. The high quality attracted eager buyers from merchants and manufacturers, rapidly establishing the fame of the premium Huanglian from the “Hometown of Huanglian.” At the same time, the replanting of Huanglian harvesting sites had access to ample high-quality seedlings for transplanting, and surplus seedlings were also supplied in bulk to other Huanglian growers in the Qinba Mountainous region, fetching good prices. No matter how the market fluctuated, the Huanglian planting area in ZhuXi has consistently remained stable at around 6,000 mu per year.

　　ZhuXi is a national pilot and demonstration county for the Conversion of Cropland to Forests Program. While meticulously implementing ecological land conversion and natural forest conservation projects, the county’s Medicinal Materials Industry Office, along with agricultural technology departments, pharmaceutical enterprises, medicinal technique associations, Huanglian research societies, and folk medicinal associations, actively explored solutions to the conflict between forests and Huanglian cultivation, seized market opportunities for Huanglian, and guided, maintained, and developed the interests of farmers and enthusiasm for producing biological medicinal materials. Cadres and farmers from Huanglian-producing townships, along with merchants, acted as “market strategists,” visiting major medicine markets such as Yuzhou, Bozhou, and Zhangshu to study market trends. They invited relevant experts and professors for advice and strategic planning, forging a path toward sustainable development of premium branded ecological medicinal materials that enrich the people and strengthen the county.

　　The production area of Zhuxi Huanglian includes the following seven administrative regions under the jurisdiction of ZhuXi County, Hubei Province: Fengxi Town, Quanxi Town, Tianbao Township, Taoyuan Township, Xiangba Township, Yangjiaba Comprehensive Farm, and Yuanmao Forest Farm.