Jiuzhaigou Dao Dang

Jiuzhaigou Dao Dang

Jiuzhaigou Dao Dang is a protected geographical indication product.

　　“Dao Dang,” also known as “Jiuzhaigou Dao Dang,” “Wen Dang,” or “Dao Kou Dang,” with the pharmacopoeia name of Codonopsis pilosula Nannf. var. modesta (Nannf.) L.T. Shen, was originally called Nanping Dao Dang. It is a premium variety within the Codonopsis family, named after its place of origin in Zhong’anle Village, Anle Township, Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan Province (historically known as Dao Kou Ba). As a highland medicinal plant resource unique to its place of origin, its roots are thick, soft, and tender, easily dissolving when chewed with a full, fleshy texture and a chrysanthemum-like core. It can be used both as food and medicine, offering benefits such as invigorating the spleen, benefiting qi, and nourishing the lungs. It was once a tribute item during the Ming and Qing dynasties and is a traditional Chinese export medicinal herb.

　　Dao Dang has extremely high medicinal value and is a premium variety within the Codonopsis family. Its main components include codonopsides, baicalein, glucose, and trace alkaloids. It provides benefits such as invigorating the spleen, benefiting qi, and strengthening the lungs. It can be used to treat symptoms such as poor appetite and loose stools, deficiency wheezing and cough, weakness of the spleen and lungs, shortness of breath and palpitations, and internal heat with excessive thirst. As an ingredient, it is often cooked with angelica, astragalus, chicken, or duck.

　　Growing Environment

　　Aba Prefecture is located on the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, 80 kilometers from Chengdu, covering an area of 84,200 square kilometers. The northwestern part features vast grasslands under blue skies and white clouds, where cattle and sheep graze freely; the southeastern part is characterized by high mountains and deep valleys, with layered ridges, forests, springs, cuckoo calls, and monkey cries. Scenic spots include the “Fairy Tale World” Jiuzhaigou, the “Heavenly Pool on Earth” Huanglong, the “Sacred Mountain of the East” Mount Siguniang, and the “living fossil” giant panda… The landscape is picturesque. Spanning two geographical steps and an elevation difference of 5,000 meters, the region features distinctly diverse vertical climates and complex, varied local ecosystems, nurturing rich medicinal resources and earning it the reputation of a “natural medicine treasury.” There are over 1,960 species of wild medicinal herbs (accounting for 50% of the province’s total), with a reserve of 85,000 tons. The prefecture is home to 179 species of key national medicinal herbs (49% of the national total), producing precious and high-volume herbs such as cordyceps, fritillaria, musk, notopterygium, nardostachys, angelica, Dao Dang, and astragalus.

　　Production Area

　　The geographical indication protection area for Dao Dang includes the administrative regions of 17 townships in Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan Province: Anle, Yongfeng, Baohua, Shuanghe, Guoyuan, Yonghe, Caodi, Luoyi, Wuji, Majia, Baihe, Lingjiang, Heihe, Yuwa, Dalu, Yongle Town, and Zhangzhazhen.