Spicy Skyward-pointing Chili Peppers

Spicy Skyward-pointing Chili Peppers

　　Xiazhi Town, Zunyi County, Guizhou Province

　　 Xiazhi Town has a long history of cultivating chili peppers. Due to its favorable soil, water quality, and climate, the local chilies are famous for their thick flesh, glossy oiliness, vibrant red hue, and richly spicy taste. The chili cultivation area has consistently remained between 25,000 to 30,000 mu. In 2010, the average per capita income from chili farming alone reached about 700 yuan; the "Xiazhi Skyward-pointing Small Chili" won a gold award at the International Agricultural Expo in 2001 and received a Geographical Indication Protection Product Certificate from the National Quality Supervision Bureau in 2009. A total of four local chili processing enterprises have been designated as provincial-level key agricultural industrialization leading enterprises. In 2010, the total output value of the town’s chili processing industry reached 1.12 billion yuan, and the per capita net income of farmers was 6,336 yuan.

　　 In 2002, Xiazhi Town built a specialized chili wholesale market covering an area of 24,000 m². This market is equipped with an electronic information center, anti-theft monitoring, inspection and testing facilities, sewage treatment, waste disposal systems, and a cold chain system. In 2009, the market traded 70 million kg of chilies, with a transaction volume exceeding 1 billion yuan; in 2010, the trading volume reached 72 million kg, with a transaction value of 1.15 billion yuan. It has been successively named a “Designated Market by the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China,” a “Top 100 Demonstration Enterprise” in national new rural construction, and a project unit under the “Double Hundred Market Project.”

　　 The chili industry not only serves as an effective means for increasing farmers’ income and achieving prosperity but also provides a pathway for promoting the construction and development of small towns and addressing the transfer of rural labor. In Xiazhi Town, over 5,000 people are engaged in chili trading year-round, with more than 500 major operators involved in transportation, two specialized transport companies, and 150 trucks with a capacity of 10 tons or more. Nearly 10,000 people are involved in tasks such as chili loading, unloading, and stem trimming. Xiazhi Town has been designated as one of the 100 key towns for construction by the National Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.