Honghe Palm

Honghe Palm

Honghe Palm is a product certified with a Geographical Indication for Agricultural Products.

　　Honghe Palm is a specialty of Honghe County in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province.

　　Honghe County has a long history of palm cultivation. According to the *Honghe County Annals*, “During the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, palms were already planted in the mountainous areas of the county, and their cultivation developed further in the 1920s.” The Hani and Yi ethnic groups in Honghe County have a history of palm planting and utilization that spans more than 1,000 years. Palm sheaths and palm boards have become one of the main sources of income for people in the mountainous regions, giving rise to a unique palm culture involving growing, harvesting, eating, singing about, dancing with, and praising palms. Long ago, the ancestors of the Hani people would sew palm sheaths into raincoats, which served as essential moisture- and cold-proof gear for outdoor labor and were also part of the gear carried by Honghe people traveling southward to “walk the plains.” Later, the uses of palm sheaths in the daily production and life of the Hani became even more extensive, prompting the domestication, cultivation, and large-scale planting of palms. As a result, the historical culture, production, and lifestyle customs of the Hani people in Honghe County are closely linked to palms. People’s food, clothing, housing, and transportation all rely on palm products. To this day, there is a custom that says, “Young people do not cut down palm trees; only the elderly may do so,” and people sing praises of the palm tree, saying, “We do not eat your fruit, nor wear your leaves, yet you give us a new layer every year.” This has given rise to the saying, “A thousand-year tung tree, ten-thousand-year palm—generations will never exhaust its gifts.” Nowadays, processing palm sheaths into high-end mattress fibers is considered one of the most ideal green home products for a healthy and comfortable sleep, which is highly favored by consumers. A’zha River is the birthplace of palm trees in Honghe County. It is said that in ancient times, tigers often roamed the mountains behind Luomeng and Hapu in Honghe. Someone being chased by a tiger donned a raincoat out of desperation. The tiger, startled, mistook the figure for a monster and fled in panic. Since then, the raincoat became a sacred garment, revered and beloved by the mountain people, who wore it both for protection against wind and rain and from ferocious beasts. The history of palm cultivation in Honghe County is profound, and the stripping and processing of palm sheaths into fibers has been a traditional industry and important source of income for the Hani and Yi peoples. In the mountainous regions where these ethnic groups reside, one can find vast palm groves. Today, the palm tree has become a sacred symbol of prosperity, peace, and happiness for the Hani and Yi, referred to as the “Guardian of the Honghe Hani Terraces.” Elders among the Hani and Yi often recount stories of the “sacred raincoat” and the “young not cutting palm trees.” During the Hani and Yi festivals of June Year and October Year, people of all ages go to the streets to dance the “Palm Fan Dance” and sing “Palm Mountain Songs.” Every winter and spring season, delicacies such as palm shoots, palm spikes, and palm flower vegetables can be tasted, while from April to May, organic foods like palm rice or palm rice porridge are enjoyed. On market days, a wide array of palm handicrafts can be admired and purchased as souvenirs. The hardworking and simple Hani and Yi peoples have created a rich palm culture through their long-term production and daily life. The county’s “Palm Fan Dance” and the song “Sentiments for Palms” have become indispensable ethnic performance programs during traditional festivals in Hani-populated areas along the Red River. Essays such as *Palm*, *Affection for Palms*, *Farming Amidst the Palm Grove*, and *The Palm Tree and the Hani People* are representative works of Honghe County, known as the homeland of palm culture. There are over 16 genera and more than 100 species of palm plants in the world capable of producing fibers, but Honghe Palm fiber is among the most corrosion-resistant natural fibers, with excellent quality and a wide range of applications. It is extensively used in industry, agriculture, fisheries, transportation, construction, aquaculture, and civilian sectors. Among the 80-plus counties (cities) in Yunnan Province that produce palm sheaths, Honghe County leads the province and even the nation in terms of planting area, yield, and quality of palm sheaths and fibers, making it the country’s largest production base for palm fiber raw materials. Honghe County is renowned as the “Hometown of Palms.” “Honghe Palm” has become a calling card for the county. In this regard, China Central Television’s Agricultural Channel (*Daily Agricultural Economy* program) featured a special report on the development of the palm industry in our county in April 2011. In recent years, the Honghe County Party Committee and County Government have placed great emphasis on the development of the “Honghe Palm” industry. They have established a Honghe Palm Industry Development Leading Group and a Honghe Palm Industry Science and Technology Development Project Leading Group, headed by leaders from the county Party Committee, People’s Congress, Government, and CPPCC, with members from departments such as agriculture, forestry, and palm industry companies, responsible for overseeing the development and technological advancement of the palm industry throughout the county. By the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the total planting area had reached 250,000 mu (according to statistics from the County Forestry Bureau), and local palm enterprises in the county include three types: palm fiber processing, palm soft mat processing, and palm machinery processing. According to incomplete statistics, by December 2012, the county had over 1,800 privately-owned palm enterprises. Building on this foundation, Honghe County formulated the *Honghe County Palm Industry Development Plan*, aiming to eventually expand the planting area to over 1 million mu, produce around 300,000 tons of palm fiber annually, and manufacture 100,000 cubic meters of palm soft mat series products. The plan also seeks to establish the county as a national base for palm fiber raw material cultivation, product processing, and technology research and development. Efforts are underway to develop palm weaving craft techniques into one of the distinctive ethnic tourism product brands of Honghe County, Honghe Prefecture, and even Yunnan Province. The county has already applied for and been granted four palm product trademarks: “Honglu,” “Honghe Yisa,” “Amushan,” and “Hometown of Palms.” Moving forward, the county plans to further develop the edible and medicinal uses of Honghe Palm flowers and fruits. Honghe Palm fiber has a wide range of uses, suitable for weaving various industrial and everyday items. It is used to produce mats, blankets, brushes, brooms, ropes, and products such as palm mattresses, seat cushions, carpets, palm ropes, palm brooms, and palm clothes. Honghe Palm has a high fiber yield rate, with palm sheaths yielding over 70% and palm boards over 30%. The fibers are long and vary in thickness, ranging from 15–60 cm in length, with some reaching over 100 cm. They appear in shades of brown, reddish-brown, or tan. The fibers are resistant to insects and possess qualities such as high tensile strength, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and water resistance. Products made from them—such as cushions, mattresses, and pillows—are comfortable, breathable, pollution-free, and resistant to insect damage, making them highly popular. These products are sold to cities such as Kunming, Guiyang, Chongqing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai.

　　Honghe Palm

　　Region: Yunnan

　　Applicant: Honghe County Palm Industry Association

　　Year of Designation: 2014

　　Geographic Scope

　　Honghe Palm is produced in Honghe County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, covering 13 townships including Yisa Town, A’zhahe Township, Shitouzhai Township, Luoen Township, Jiayin Township, Baohua Township, Leyu Township, Langdi Township, Jache Township, Dayangjie Township, Chegu Township, Diema Township, and Sancun Township. Its geographical coordinates are between 101°49′ to 102°37′ east longitude and 25°05′ to 23°26′ north latitude, spanning 81 km from east to west and 40 km from north to south, with a planting area of 66,666.7 hectares and an annual palm fiber production of 300,000 tons.