Liangshan Sweet-Aroma Flue-Cured Tobacco

Liangshan Sweet-Aroma Flue-Cured Tobacco

Liangshan Sweet-Aroma Flue-Cured Tobacco is a product with a geographical indication for agricultural products.

　　Liangshan flue-cured tobacco was successfully introduced in 1941, and the cultivation of sweet-aroma type flue-cured tobacco has a history of about 70 years, with a broad popular foundation. Over the long-term practice of cultivating this type, the laboring people have accumulated rich experience. Liangshan tobacco leaves are distinctly characterized by their "sweet-aroma" style, featuring golden-yellow and orange-yellow appearances with bright luster, loose tissue, moderate oil content, and are raw materials for the main formulations of flue-cured type cigarette products. Comprehensive quality evaluations from Shanghai Tobacco (Group) Company, Hubei Tobacco Group, and Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute state: "The chemical component content of Liangshan sweet-aroma type flue-cured tobacco is within an appropriate range, and the safety of the tobacco leaves is relatively good", "Liangshan sweet-aroma type flue-cured tobacco has a sufficient aroma volume, a good smoke condition, and possesses the quality characteristics of being used as main ingredient tobacco", "Compared with imported tobacco leaves, the appearance quality of Liangshan sweet-aroma type flue-cured tobacco meets the requirements, and the chemical components are well-balanced". During the "12th Five-Year Plan" period, cumulative sales revenue reached 45.467 billion yuan, with annual sales revenue increasing from 6.511 billion yuan to 11.024 billion yuan, an increase of 4.513 billion yuan and an average annual growth rate of 14.07%. Tax and profit reached 16.375 billion yuan, with annual tax and profit increasing from 2.134 billion yuan to 4.3 billion yuan, an increase of 2.166 billion yuan and an average annual growth rate of 19.14%. The income of tobacco farmers reached 15.555 billion yuan, with annual income increasing from 2.42 billion yuan to 3.396 billion yuan, an increase of 976 million yuan and an average annual growth rate of 8.83%. It has basically become an important national strategic high-quality tobacco leaf base.

　　The attainment of geographical indication protection for "Liangshan Sweet-Aroma Flue-Cured Tobacco" is conducive to further enhancing its reputation and improving the intrinsic quality for the sound and rapid development of our region's characteristic high-quality tobacco leaves. (Wu Xiaoyan)

　　Geographic Scope

　　Liangshan Prefecture is located in the northeastern part of the Hengduan Mountains in the southwestern part of Sichuan Province, on the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, between the Sichuan Basin and the central plateau of Yunnan Province. Its geographic coordinates are between 100°15′–103°52′ east longitude and 26°03′–29°18′ north latitude. It stretches 370 kilometers from north to south and 360 kilometers from east to west, covering a total area of 60,400 square kilometers, accounting for 12.5% of Sichuan Province.

　　The protected area for the agricultural product geographical indication of Liangshan Sweet-Aroma Flue-Cured Tobacco includes 16 counties and cities in Liangshan Prefecture: Huili County, Huidong County, Dechang County, Ningnan County, Mianning County, Puge County, Yuexi County, Yan Yuan County, Xichang City, Jinyang County, Meigu County, Butuo County, Zhaojue County, Xide County, Ganluo County, and Leibo County, encompassing a total of 581 townships, 3,639 administrative villages, and a protected area of 280,000 hectares. Liangshan Prefecture is one of the country’s important high-quality tobacco leaf producing areas and a pilot zone for modern tobacco agriculture, and has now become the second-largest high-quality tobacco leaf production area in China. The annual output of Liangshan Sweet-Aroma Flue-Cured Tobacco is 53 million tons.

　　Natural Ecological Environment and Humanistic Historical Factors

　　(1) Soil and Topography: Liangshan Prefecture is located on the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the northeastern part of the Hengduan Mountains in the southwestern part of Sichuan Province. The region features a complex and diverse topography, predominantly layered landforms. The landscape is mainly mountainous, accounting for about 80% of the total area, followed by tablelands, with hills, alluvial plains, wide valleys, and faulted basins making up around 10%. The main tobacco-growing areas in Liangshan Prefecture are distributed across five types of landforms: valleys, low mountains, hills, low-middle mountains, middle mountains, and flat plains. The suitable altitude range for producing sweet-aroma flue-cured tobacco is 1,300–2,200 meters, primarily concentrated between 1,500 and 1,800 meters. The main soil types are purple soil, red soil, yellow-brown soil, and brown soil, which make up 80% of the total area. These soils have deep layers, good structure, loose texture, and good air permeability, with organic matter content of 1–3%; alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen of 80–150 mg/kg; available phosphorus of 5–20 mg/kg; available potassium of 100–200 mg/kg; pH value of 5.0–7.0; and chloride ions in the 0–60 cm soil layer less than 30 mg/kg. This means the soil is slightly acidic, with abundant alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and available potassium, loose texture, good permeability, deep plowing layers, and high nutrient content—all essential conditions that form the "high sugar, moderate nicotine, high potassium" characteristics of Liangshan Sweet-Aroma Flue-Cured Tobacco.

　　(2) Hydrology: Liangshan Prefecture has abundant rainfall and crisscrossing rivers, with a well-developed mountainous water system. Except for the Anning River Valley, most rivers are mountain streams. There are over 160 rivers with a drainage area of more than 100 square kilometers, and 13 major rivers with a drainage area over 1,000 square kilometers, including the Yalong River. Among them, the Anning River is the largest river in Liangshan Prefecture, stretching 326 kilometers in total, flowing through 222 kilometers within the prefecture, passing through three counties and cities—Mianning, Xichang, and Dechang—and having 18 tributaries, with the largest being the Sunshui River, Jinchuan River, and Hequ River.

　　(3) Climate: Liangshan Prefecture has distinct vertical climate characteristics, abundant light, heat, and water resources, concurrent rain and heat seasons, and very superior agricultural climatic conditions. The region has a subtropical monsoon climate and can be divided into three subtropical vertical climate zones and one temperate climate zone. Annual sunshine duration ranges from 1,627 to 2,600 hours, with total annual solar radiation between 4,300 and 6,100 MJ/m², making it one of the areas with the highest sunshine hours and total radiation in China at the same latitude. Average annual temperature ranges from 14 to 19°C, with ≥10°C effective accumulated temperature of 5,100–6,000°C, and frost-free period of 220–360 days. Annual precipitation ranges from 838 to 1,176 mm, with distinct dry and rainy seasons. The rainy season begins in early May to early June and ends in mid-October, accounting for 80%–90% of the annual precipitation, with night rainfall accounting for 70%–80%. The tobacco-growing areas of Liangshan Sweet-Aroma Flue-Cured Tobacco enjoy a mild climate year-round, without severe summer heat or harsh winter cold, with ample sunlight and rainfall, small annual temperature variation but large diurnal temperature variation, and high photosynthetic efficiency. These conditions are highly conducive to the high accumulation of photosynthesis in tobacco leaves and the formation of high-quality flue-cured tobacco with the "sweet-aroma" style characteristics.

　　(4) Humanistic and Historical Background: The Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture is home to 14 long-residing ethnic groups, including Yi, Han, Mongolian, Tibetan, and Hui, with a total population of 4.484 million, among which the Yi ethnic group numbers 2.0829 million, accounting for 46.45% of the total population, making it the largest Yi-inhabited area in China.

　　In 1941, Wang Shouyong of Huili established the Huakang Flue-Cured Tobacco Co., Ltd., introducing flue-cured tobacco seeds from Yuxi, Yunnan, and distributing them free of charge to farmers for planting. Ten curing barns were built in Chuanzhu Temple, Panlian Township, and Binggu Township respectively. The following year, over 100 hectares were planted across the county, and 35,000 kilograms of tobacco leaves were purchased and sold to Yuxi Tobacco Factory in Yunnan.

　　In 1942, Zhan Weilian, professor in the Department of Agronomy at Xikang Technical Specialized School, and Xu Zhongwei, manager of Xichang Yumin Company

　　...managed to find Cai Xitao, director of the Yunnan Tropical Plant Research Institute and professor in the Department of Botany at Southwest Associated University, and introduced the high-quality flue-cured tobacco variety "Dajinyuan" from Yunnan. It was successfully trial-planted in Xichang County but failed to be promoted. In the same year, the U.S. government in Washington D.C. sent 500 grams of "Dajinyuan" seeds to the Chinese Agricultural Association, which were then passed on to Xu Zhongwei, who also conducted trial planting in Xichang County. This variety spread among the public and evolved through self-selection into air-cured tobacco, commonly known as "Laohuan Tobacco" or "Dafu’er Tobacco."

　　In 1960, counties such as Huili, Miyi, and Ningnan successfully introduced flue-cured tobacco from Yunnan. By 1965, a total of 532,200 kilograms of flue-cured tobacco had been purchased. Later, due to substandard planting and curing techniques resulting in poor leaf quality, cultivation was halted. In 1963, Xichang County reintroduced the variety from Yunnan, achieving successful cultivation and curing in the county experimental fields. In 1975, Huili County introduced flue-cured tobacco seeds from Yuxi Prefecture, Yunnan, planting 353.87 hectares and purchasing 675,950 kilograms of flue-cured tobacco that year. Counties such as Huidong, Xichang, Dechang, Ningnan, and Puge subsequently promoted cultivation. By 1985, the flue-cured tobacco planting area in the Liangshan tobacco region reached over 7,320 hectares, with 12,085 tons of flue-cured tobacco purchased, establishing it as a national base for high-quality flue-cured tobacco production. In 1990, 22 townships, 82 villages, and 3,152 farming households in Xichang City planted flue-cured tobacco, with a transplanting area of 713.33 hectares. Due to natural disasters that year, the actual planting area was 593.53 hectares, yielding 765,000 kilograms of dried tobacco with a total output value of 2.6 million yuan.

　　In the 1990s, flue-cured tobacco production in the Liangshan tobacco region achieved historic leapfrog growth. The annual planting area increased from less than 10,000 hectares to 38,000 hectares (in 1997), and the annual total output increased from over 10,000 tons to over 79,000 tons (in 1997). In 2000, the flue-cured tobacco planting area in the Liangshan tobacco region was over 22,000 hectares, with a total output of over 34,000 tons, and the proportion of medium-to-high-grade tobacco reached 63.51%, making it the most concentrated, highest-yielding, and best-quality tobacco-growing area in Sichuan Province.

　　The cultivation of Liangshan Sweet-Aroma Flue-Cured Tobacco has a history of about 70 years, with a broad popular foundation. Over the long-term practice of cultivating this type, the laboring people have accumulated rich experience. Liangshan tobacco leaves are distinctly characterized by their "sweet-aroma" style, featuring golden-yellow and orange-yellow appearances with bright luster, loose tissue, moderate oil content, and are raw materials for the main formulations of flue-cured type cigarette products. Comprehensive quality evaluations from Shanghai Tobacco (Group) Company, Hubei Tobacco Group, and Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute state: "The chemical component content of Liangshan sweet-aroma type flue-cured tobacco is within an appropriate range, and the safety of the tobacco leaves is relatively good", "Liangshan sweet-aroma type flue-cured tobacco has a sufficient aroma volume, a good smoke condition, and possesses the quality characteristics of being used as main ingredient tobacco", "Compared with imported tobacco leaves, the appearance quality of Liangshan sweet-aroma type flue-cured tobacco meets the requirements, and the chemical components are well-balanced". From 2004 to 2008, the Liangshan tobacco region cumulatively produced 450,000 tons of sweet-aroma flue-cured tobacco for national cigarette manufacturers, generating cumulative sales income of 5.418 billion yuan for tobacco farmers, cumulative tobacco leaf tax and profit of 3.633 billion yuan, and creating 3.633 billion yuan in tobacco leaf taxes over five years. Sweet-aroma flue-cured tobacco has become an indispensable economic crop and pillar industry for farmers in the high and semi-high mountainous areas of Liangshan Prefecture—essential for increasing farmer income, crucial for boosting fiscal revenue, vital for corporate performance enhancement, and indispensable for the cigarette industry.