Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lamb

Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lamb

Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lamb is an agricultural product with geographical indication status.

　　Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lamb is one of Shanxi Province’s renowned specialty products, famous far and wide. However, its production is limited to the Chinese Arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis) mountainous area in Zhongyang County, making it highly sought-after yet hard to come by. This premium mountain lamb is high in protein and low in fat, rich in free amino acids and various trace elements. It boasts a fragrant taste, free from fishiness or greasiness, and is extremely easy to digest and absorb. It also offers health benefits such as boosting immunity, preventing illness, aiding recovery, strengthening the body, and promoting longevity.

　　Zhongyang Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lamb

　　Geographic Scope

　　The Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lamb production area in Zhongyang County is centered around the county and spans a 6–10 km radius, covering approximately 20 km from north to south and 12 km from east to west (within the rocky mountainous region between longitude 111°06′ to 111°18′ and latitude 37°15′ to 37°28′), with a total area of about 240 square kilometers. This region sits at an altitude of 1200–1500 meters and includes three townships—Ningzhen Town, Zhangzishan Township, and Xiazhaolin Township—encompassing 18 administrative villages. The area has about 150,000 mu of natural Chinese Arborvitae shrubbery and can support over 30,000 Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lambs.

　　Product Quality and Characteristic Features

　　1. External Sensory Characteristics: Zhongyang Chinese Arborvitae Seed Goats, through natural selection, are cold-resistant, drought-resistant, and able to thrive on coarse feed. They are gentle in temperament and highly responsive. Feeding on Arborvitae leaves year-round, drinking from mountain springs near Arborvitae roots, and frequently moving across rocky terrain results in tightly and evenly distributed muscle (fat) deposits, especially in the legs which are very firm. Authentic Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lamb features dense, finely textured meat with a purplish-red color, snow-white fat, and a fragrant aroma reminiscent of Arborvitae, free from fishiness or greasiness. 2. Internal Quality: Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lamb is highly nutritious. Long-term consumption can replenish qi and blood, nourish skin and improve vision, stimulate appetite and strengthen the spleen, and fortify the waist and knees. In the 1980s, research by the Shanxi Grain, Oil and Food Research Institute showed that adult Chinese Arborvitae Seed Sheep have higher total amino acid content than regular goats. Of the 18 essential amino acids required by the human body, 12 are found in Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lamb, exceeding levels in ordinary goats. In 2009, testing by PONY Testing International Group (Beijing) Co., Ltd. using instruments such as an atomic absorption spectrometer and amino acid auto-analyzer determined that “Zhongyang Chinese Arborvitae Seed Lamb” contains ≥21.6mg protein /100g, ≥0.73mg vitamin E /100g, ≥2.06mg glutamic acid /100g, ≥1.22mg arginine /100g, ≥4.44mg calcium /100g, and ≥15.65mg total amino acids /100g. Its cholesterol content is significantly lower than that of ordinary products. It also contains ≥311mg potassium /100g, ≥5.93mg zinc /100g, and other trace elements, with vitamin E and vitamin B1 levels several times higher than average, making it exceptionally nutritious.