Shidian Leeches

Shidian Leeches

Shidian leeches are a protected geographical indication product.

　　Shidian Leeches

　　Shidian leeches are currently the world's leading aquaculture region in terms of medicinal active extract yield. On the basis of cultivating 300 acres of leeches, the county supported local farmers to raise leeches on an additional 1,000 acres this year, with plans to expand to 2,000 acres next year, aiming to achieve a leech industry output value of over 100 million yuan.

　　Leeches are an important raw material in traditional Chinese medicine used to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as high blood lipids and cerebral thrombosis. Due to human activities, the population of wild leeches in Shidian has sharply declined, resulting in an increasingly prominent supply-demand imbalance. As a result, Shidian leeches once became a highly sought-after TCM raw material in Yunnan and even across China.

　　The current administrative regions of Youwang Town, Renhe Town, and Dianyang Town in Shidian County, Baoshan City, Yunnan Province.

　　"Letter from the People’s Government of Shidian County on Defining the Protection Scope of the Geographical Indication Product Shidian Leeches", Shizheng Letter [2014] No. 11

　　Yunnan Provincial Local Standard:

　　"Geographical Indication Product – Shidian Leeches" (Draft)