Wangcang Eucommia

Wangcang Eucommia

Wangcang Eucommia is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Wangcang Eucommia is a variety of traditional Chinese medicinal material, a specialty of Wangcang County in Sichuan Province, and a China National Geographical Indication product. With a long history of artificial cultivation in Wangcang County, the suitable soil, climate conditions, and abundant water resources have resulted in rich and high-quality Eucommia resources. The content of active ingredients in the bark and leaves of Wangcang Eucommia ranks first in China, earning the area the reputation of “Shady Forest Medicine Hometown.”

　　　Wangcang Eucommia is a deciduous tree belonging to the Eucommiaceae family. Also known as silk cotton tree, it can grow up to 15–20 meters tall. Its bark is used medicinally, as shown in Figure 1: Wangcang Eucommia.

　　Traditional Chinese patent medicines primarily made from Eucommia enjoy a strong reputation in Southeast Asian countries and Hong Kong and Macau regions. Its leaves can be processed into health tea, exported to Japan, or used to extract eucommia gum. Varieties include rough-bark Eucommia and smooth-bark Eucommia. Sichuan has a long history of development and utilization, with distribution across 120 counties (cities), mainly in Guangyuan, Mianyang, Chengdu, Wanxian, and Bazhong.

　　The dried bark of Eucommia, a commonly used authentic traditional Chinese medicinal material from Sichuan. Also known as Sishen, Sizhong, silk cotton bark, or stretched silk bark. It was first recorded in the “Shennong Bencao Jing” (The Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica). Warm in nature, sweet and slightly pungent in taste, it has effects such as nourishing liver and kidney, strengthening tendons and bones, calming the fetus, and lowering blood pressure. It is mainly produced in Bazhong, Dachuan, Mianyang, Qingchuan, Pingwu, Wenjiang, Pengzhou, and Dujiangyan. It is cultivated or grows wild in mountain forests, and the bark is harvested in spring and summer from trees that are nearly 10 years old. High-quality bark features thick texture, large pieces, clean removal of coarse outer bark, abundant inner fibers, and a dark purple inner surface. The main medicinal component is eucommia gum.

　　Production Situation

　　　　Wangcang County is a revolutionary old base area in northern Sichuan, where mountainous areas account for 99.96% of the county’s total land. The geographical conditions have determined that Wangcang is a mountainous county primarily reliant on forestry. The artificial cultivation of Wangcang Eucommia has a long history and serves as a traditional and important export medicinal material for the county.

　　　Resource-rich and high-quality, Wangcang in the Qinba Mountain region has long been known as the “Shady Forest Medicine Hometown.” In 1984, the Sichuan Provincial Traditional Chinese Medicinal Material Production Planning Meeting listed Wangcang as a Eucommia production base county. In 1988, the Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Commission included the establishment of a 100,000-mu commercial Eucommia production base in Wangcang in the “Spark Program” project. In 1996, the Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Commission designated Wangcang as a demonstration project for the industrialization of natural medicinal material Eucommia. In 2000, the State Forestry Administration named Wangcang County the “Hometown of Eucommia in China’s Special High-Quality Economic Forests.” In 1998, the county was listed as one of China’s second batch of high-yield, high-quality, and high-efficiency agricultural standardized Eucommia demonstration zones, and it remains the only agricultural standardized demonstration zone for Eucommia cultivation in China. To this end, Wangcang County formulated local standards such as “Wangcang Eucommia,” “High-Yield and Quality Techniques for Wangcang Eucommia,” and “Bark Stripping and Regeneration Techniques for Wangcang Eucommia.” It also compiled and printed technical materials such as “Eucommia Annual Management Technical Work Calendar” and “Eucommia Forest Management Techniques,” organized over 20 training sessions, trained more than 1,000 people, held 20 technical field meetings, and achieved a farmer training coverage rate of over 85%. In accordance with the requirements of the demonstration zone project, the area fully implemented a standardized production management model of “company + base + farmer + standard,” establishing a series of control measures for processes such as seedling cultivation, orchard establishment, planting, fertilizing and watering, pruning, harvesting, and processing.

　　In 2000, the demonstration zone successfully passed the national inspection. In the same year, the State Forestry Administration named Wangcang County the “Hometown of Eucommia.” By 2006, the output value exceeded 100 million yuan; various products such as Eucommia wine, Eucommia tea, and Eucommia leaf powder were developed and continuously sold across China, with Eucommia tea also being exported to Japan and other countries.

　　Geographical Indication Product Protection

　　　　In accordance with the “Regulations on the Protection of Geographical Indication Products,” the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China organized a review of the application for the protection of Wangcang Eucommia as a geographical indication product. Upon passing the review, it approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for Wangcang Eucommia starting September 3, 2007 (Announcement No. 128, 2007).

　　Protected Area

　　　　The protected area for Wangcang Eucommia as a geographical indication product is based on the scope proposed in the “Letter on the Recommended Scope for the Protection of Wangcang Eucommia as a Geographical Indication Product” (Wangfu Letter [2006] No. 42) issued by the People’s Government of Wangcang County, Sichuan Province, covering the entire administrative region of Wangcang County, Sichuan Province.