Pianguan Millet

Pianguan Millet

Pianguan millet is a geographical indication agricultural product.

　　Pianguan millet is produced in Pianguan County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, and boasts a long history of primitive farming culture. According to the *Pianguan County Annals*, the millet planting area was 152,704 mu in 1951, 130,774 mu in 1963, and 143,000 mu in 2012. Historical records indicate that millet was the main crop used for tax grain payments in Pianguan County, maintaining an annual output of around 150,000 jin. The local community also has the custom of making sour porridge with millet. The *Pianguan County Annals* record: It is said that during wartime, when the owner was washing millet to cook, a battle broke out. After returning post-war, they couldn’t bear to discard it and instead made porridge, discovering it had an even better taste—thus the practice continues to this day. In the harsh “nine droughts in ten years” period of the past, Pianguan residents relied on millet to survive famine; today, Pianguan has become the county in Shanxi Province that earliest promoted Zhang hybrid millet, with the largest planting area and where farmers have benefited the most, seeing production and profits multiply.

　　Pianguan County is located in a loess hilly region, characterized by undulating hills and crisscrossing gullies, making it a typical production area for small grains. The millet produced here features a golden-yellow hue, smooth texture, and when cooked into congee, forms a layer of rice oil on the surface, offering high nutritional value. Testing by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Grain Quality Inspection Center shows it contains 11.20% crude protein, 4.84% crude fat, 17.28% amylose, 80mm gel consistency, and an alkali spreading value of 3.4. It is known to aid digestion, improve sleep, enhance health, and beautify the complexion, making it a nourishing food suitable for the elderly, patients, and new mothers.

　　Geographical Scope

　　Pianguan County is situated in the Loess Plateau of northwestern Shanxi, within the loess hilly region of the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, at the convergence where the river flows from Inner Mongolia into southern Shanxi. The mountainous areas within the county belong to the Guancan Mountain Range. It borders Shenchi and Shuozhou City to the east, faces the Yellow River and Inner Mongolia’s Jungar Banner across the water to the west, connects to Hequ and Wucai counties to the south, and adjoins Inner Mongolia’s Qingshuihe County along the Great Wall to the north. Geographic coordinates: 111°21′–112°00′ east longitude, 39°12′–39°39′ north latitude, with a total county area of 1,685.4 square kilometers. The protected geographical indication area for Pianguan millet includes 10 towns and 224 villages within Pianguan County: Laoying Town, Tianfengping Town, Xinguang Town, Wanjiazhai Town, Shuiquan Township, Chenjiaying Township, Yaotou Township, Lougou Township, Shangyu Township, and Nanbaozi Township. It stretches from Jiabao Village in Laoying Town in the east to Sigou Village in Tianfengping Town in the west, Huashi Village in Wanjiazhai Town in the north, and Yangjiayao Village in Lougou Township in the south. In recent years, the millet planting area has remained above 6,667 hectares annually, with a total annual output of 40,000 tons.