Congjiang Xianghe Glutinous Rice

Congjiang Xianghe Glutinous Rice

Congjiang Xianghe Glutinous Rice is a product certified under China's Agricultural Geographic Indication system.

　　Congjiang Xianghe Glutinous Rice is a specialty of Congjiang County in Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province. It is a unique local rice variety carefully cultivated over generations by farmers in Congjiang. The rice is of premium quality, aromatic, and highly nutritious, making it an excellent health and tonic food.

　　“One mu of Xianghe rice blossoms fills the air with fragrance for ten li; one family steaming the rice perfumes ten households.” Xianghe glutinous rice is a distinctive rice strain that the Dong people have cultivated and selected over centuries by leveraging the region’s unique water-soil resources and climatic conditions, passing it down to this day. It is grown entirely using natural farming methods such as the rice-duck-fish co-culture model and organic agriculture practices, and is known as the “King of Glutinous Rice.” Congjiang County in Guizhou Province has long been famed as the “Home of Xianghe Glutinous Rice,” and the rice has been listed among Guizhou Province’s renowned premium grain varieties.

　　Xianghe glutinous rice is a unique local variety from Congjiang, known for its excellent grain quality, rich nutrition, strong edibility, fragrant and soft texture, and non-greasy taste. It is a rare delicacy beloved by the people of Congjiang.

　　In recent years, the significant ecological agricultural value and critically endangered status of Xianghe glutinous rice have drawn high attention from the agricultural science and technology community. Congjiang County has also taken measures to actively protect and develop this valuable agricultural cultural heritage. The county’s Party committee and government have made strong adjustments to the agricultural industrial structure, focusing on developing Xianghe glutinous rice as a premium product within the county’s characteristic agriculture. With the construction of the nearby Xiamen-Chengdu Expressway and the Guiyang-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway, Congjiang County has set its sights on the high-end markets of the Pearl River Delta, aiming to cultivate 50,000 mu of Xianghe glutinous rice. By 2015, the county expects an annual total production of 10,000 tons, averaging 250 kg per mu, with a total output value of 50 million yuan.

　　Relying on institutions such as Guizhou University and the Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Congjiang County has adopted models such as “base + distribution hub + market,” “base + cooperative (association) + market,” and “base + large households (brokers, technicians) + market” to guide villages including Gaozeng, Jianhua, Zhanli, and Longjiang to establish the “Dong Xianghe Glutinous Rice Professional Cooperative.” The establishment of the cooperative has shifted farmers from individual operations to collaborative, scaled management, increasing the production scale and quality of Xianghe glutinous rice, and promoting the industrialization of Dong Xianghe glutinous rice. With the cooperative’s leadership, by 2012, the county had developed 30,000 mu of Xianghe glutinous rice cultivation, spread across 17 towns including Gaozeng, Luoxiang, Xiajiang, and Cuili.

　　Geographical Scope

　　The protected geographical indication area for Congjiang Xianghe Glutinous Rice covers 21 townships within the current administrative region of Congjiang County, Guizhou Province: Bingmei Town, Gaozeng Township, Yongli Township, Guping Township, Guandong Town, Luoxiang Town, Qingyun Township, Xishan Town, Cuili Township, Duli Township, Xiajiang Town, Tingdong Town, Wangdong Town, Donglang Township, Gangbian Township, Xiutang Township, Zai bian Town, Jiabang Township, Jianmian Township, Jiajiu Township, and Guanghui Township. Congjiang County is located in the southeastern part of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, with geographic coordinates between 25°16′–26°05′ N latitude and 108°05′–109°12′ E longitude. It borders Rongjiang County to the north, Libo County of Qiannan Prefecture and Huanjiang County of Guangxi to the west, touches the border of Rongshui County, Guangxi to the south, and connects with Liping County and Sanjiang County, Guangxi to the east. It is known as the “Gateway to Southern Guizhou and Key Passage to Northern Guangxi.” The county seat, Bingmei Town, is situated along the Duliu River, 450 km from provincial capital Guiyang, 252 km from prefectural capital Kaili, 280 km from Liuzhou City, and 275 km from Guilin City in Guangxi. The county spans 94 km from east to west and 77.5 km from north to south, covering a total area of 3,244 square kilometers. In 2015, the county had a total population of 352,000, of which 307,000 were agricultural residents, accounting for 94.4% of the total. Ethnic minorities including Miao, Dong, Zhuang, Yao, and Shui made up 94.09% of the population. The county has 208,400 mu of arable land, including 178,400 mu of paddy fields, of which 30,000 mu are used for Xianghe glutinous rice, yielding 7,800 tons annually.