Qingcaoba Radish

Qingcaoba Radish

Qingcaoba Radish is a product certified with a Geographical Indication for Agricultural Products.

　　Qingcaoba Radish has a long history of cultivation. Legend has it that when Cao Cao led an army of 830,000 troops southward during his campaign, they passed through Qingcaoba. The soldiers were hungry and thirsty, and seeing the large and abundant local radishes, Cao Cao ordered them to eat the radishes. They ate for three days and nights but couldn’t finish them all. The leftover radishes turned into river water and flowed downstream, flooding the people below who cried out in distress for three days without stopping. According to Gao Baicheng, a local centenarian, his ancestors likely started cultivating Qingcaoba Radish around the 41st year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty. In 1924, a wealthy landlord named Li Jiucheng organized farmers to plant Qingcaoba Radish extensively and transported them by boat to surrounding areas as well as regions in Jiangsu and Zhejiang for sale, quickly becoming a renowned local tycoon. During the Republican era, the annual temple fair at Yuwang Temple in Qingcaoba featured dishes made with Qingcaoba Radish for vegetarian meals. A “Radish King” competition was also held, where the largest and heaviest radish would win, celebrated with opera performances. It’s said that a village head named Kong Hechuan once grew a radish weighing over 10 jin (5 kg). During the Anti-Japanese War, when Chongqing served as the wartime capital of the Nationalist Government, a U.S. plane was shot down by Japanese forces over Qingcaoba. The surviving American pilot survived on Qingcaoba Radish until rescued. Later, when the Nationalist Government sent troops to Qingcaoba to retrieve the Allied pilot, they also brought Qingcaoba Radish back to Chongqing, greatly enhancing its fame. Even Chiang Kai-shek specifically requested Qingcaoba Radish from Er’langtan under the Quhe area. This made Qingcaoba Radish a highly sought-after item in Chongqing, with people praising, “Qingcaoba radish cooked with cured meat needs no oil or salt to taste delicious,” “Qingcaoba radishes are so big, you can eat them without oil or salt,” and “Qingcaoba radishes in early winter are like little ginseng.” To this day, a children’s rhyme circulates in Qingcaoba: “Red radish, white radish, everyone knows about radish; fragrant radish, sweet radish, radish comes just before New Year.”

　　Qingcaoba Radish is produced in the pollution-free vegetable bases of Qingba Village in Longshi Town and Zaoniba Village in Xianglong Town along the Qu River in Hechuan District, Chongqing. It is a renowned local variety of Chongqing. The annual planting area is nearly 10,000 mu (about 667 hectares), with an annual output of over 30,000 tons. Qingcaoba Radish is large, thin-skinned, brightly colored, crisp and tender, with white flesh, rich juice, and a sweet taste. It can be eaten raw like fruit. The radish is rich in essential nutrients such as sugar, vitamins, inorganic salts, and plant fiber, and also contains amylase, which stimulates appetite and digestion. It has high both culinary and medicinal value, earning it the reputation of “rural ginseng.” It is highly favored by consumers and enjoys considerable recognition both within and outside Chongqing.

　　Using Qingcaoba Radish, traditional processing techniques create unique flavors in radish threads and radish rolls. These products are currently applying for municipal-level intangible cultural heritage protection and hold promising market potential.

　　Geographic Range

　　The protected geographical indication area for Qingcaoba Radish is located in Qingba Village, Longshi Town, Hechuan District, Chongqing. Its geographic coordinates are longitude 106°33′52″ to 106°34′12″ and latitude 30°16′22″ to 30°17′28″. The area spans 118 hectares, with an annual output of over 5,000 tons.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　1. External sensory characteristics: Length 9 cm–14 cm, diameter 7 cm–12 cm, individual weight 0.3 kg–0.8 kg. Skin color is rouge red, flesh is ivory white. The cut surface is smooth and fine. When eaten raw, it is slightly sweet, tender, crisp, fragrant, and not spicy. When cooked, it is mildly sweet, melts in the mouth, and is refreshing. Suitable for eating raw, cooked, or processed. 2. Unique internal components: Qingcaoba Radish contains 15.0 mg–20.5 mg vitamin C per 100 g, 0.0100 mg–0.0154 mg selenium per kg, and 260.0 mg–330.0 mg potassium per 100 g. 3. Quality and safety standards: The growing environment meets the standards of NY5010-2001 “Environmental Requirements for Pollution-Free Vegetable Production Areas.” Product quality complies with NY5082-2002 “Pollution-Free Radish” standards.