Luxi Zhefang Rice

Luxi Zhefang Rice

　　Zhefang rice is grown in the Zhefang Basin of Zhefang Town, Luxi City. It features a lustrous white color and yields rice that is fragrantly appetizing, soft and smooth to the bite, sticky without being too thick, and does not harden upon cooling, while also being rich in nutrients. Since the Yuan Dynasty, it has been selected by successive dynasties as a tribute item from the local chieftains of Luxi, with a yearly quota. In 1959, it was designated by the State Council as the rice for receiving foreign guests at state banquets. This product is cultivated using traditional rice varieties and methods, then meticulously processed with modern equipment and techniques, resulting in a clean, hygienic product that makes a great choice for household use or as a gift for family and friends.

　　Zhefang rice is the essence of traditional rice varieties, infused with the vitality of nature, forming a rare, soft, and aromatic type of rice under special climatic and ecological conditions. The names of Zhefang rice varieties all begin with the character “毫” (háo), such as Hao’an Gong and Hao’an Xiu. These are all late-maturing, tall-stem, low-yield rice varieties, where “毫” in the Dai language means “rice passed down from ancestors.” The Dai people in the production area take pride in growing traditional rice and eating traditional rice. They have maintained the traditional method of ox-plowing and manual weeding, even during the era of “communal dining” when high yields were emphasized. Entering the 1990s, with the end of material scarcity, people’s lifestyle aspirations underwent a qualitative change, and eating “Zhefang rice” became a trend. As demand increased, the planting area expanded year by year, making it a traditional branded commodity of Luxi City.

Eating Zhefang rice became fashionable, and as demand rose, the cultivated area gradually increased each year, establishing it as a traditional branded product of Luxi City.

　　 The unique qualities of Zhefang rice are found only in the 100,000-mu (approximately 6,667 hectares) paddy field area located at the convergence of the “Three Gorges”—the Sandai Mountain Gorge, Longjiang Gorge, and Moli Gorge—in the southeast of the Zhefang Basin, at an altitude of 840 meters. The maximum annual yield is 30 million kilograms. Here, the soil is rich and fertile, sunlight is abundant, rainfall is plentiful, air circulation is strong, there are multiple hot springs and underground rivers, and various forest springs flow in. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used, and there are few occurrences of pests, diseases, or epidemics, creating the ideal climate and ecological environment for Zhefang rice. Over the years, many agricultural experts have conducted on-site investigations and attempted to transplant and test-grow the rice elsewhere, but none have succeeded.