Yuanyang Terraced Field Red Rice

Yuanyang Terraced Field Red Rice

Yuanyang Terraced Field Red Rice is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Yuanyang Terraced Field Red Rice is a specialty of Yuanyang County in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province. This type of red rice is a whole grain with small grains, only two-thirds the size of hybrid rice. It has high swelling capacity, good taste, and rich flavor when cooked.

　　Yuanyang is a major agricultural mountainous county and has historically been a key rice-producing region. According to the oral epic of the Hani people, the origin of Yuanyang Terraced Field Red Rice is in Wulupeng Village, Mayi Township, Yuanyang County, where it has been cultivated for over a thousand years. In recent years, relying on Longtai Grain Industry Co., Ltd. and Yuanyang County Grain Purchase and Sales Co., Ltd., a production and operation model of "company + base + farmers" has been adopted. The Yuanyang County Hani Terraced Field Organic Red Rice Professional Cooperative was established. Through contracts with farmers, provision of high-quality seeds, and training, the cooperative actively encourages and guides farmers to grow terraced field red rice. In 2013, the planting area reached 23,500 mu, with main varieties including Hongyou 8, Hongyang 2, and Hongyang 3. Total output was 9,400 tons, of which refined rice for commercial sale was 5,700 tons, generating an output value of 86.4 million yuan.

　　Yuanyang Terraced Field Red Rice is a whole grain with small grains, only two-thirds the size of hybrid rice. It has high swelling capacity, good taste, and rich flavor when cooked. Its genetic diversity index is three times that of modern improved varieties, giving it strong adaptability, low fertilizer demand, and excellent resistance to pests. The plant stands 95–105 cm tall, with panicles 21–23 cm long, 120–135 grains per panicle, 95–115 filled grains, a filling rate of 80%–85%, and a 1,000-grain weight of 30–32 grams. The large yellow grains have an awn, are easy to thresh, and produce soft, fragrant rice that does not harden when cooled. The stalks are thick and sturdy, the plant structure is compact, and it resists lodging, rice blast, and bacterial leaf blight. With a growth cycle of about 150 days, the average yield is 300–400 kg per mu. Rich in nutrition, it contains all 18 amino acids essential to humans, and seven out of the eight amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize.

　　It is reported that the Hani rice terrace farming system where Yuanyang Terraced Field Red Rice is grown has been listed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the Ministry of Agriculture as a pilot site for globally important agricultural cultural heritage and among the first batch of China’s important agricultural cultural heritage. In June 2013, the Honghe Hani Terraced Fields were successfully inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In October 2013, Yuanyang Terraced Field Red Rice won the Gold Award for Quality Product at the 9th China Kunming Pan-Asian International Agricultural Expo.

　　Currently, Yuanyang County has completed overall certification of 334,800 mu of pollution-free agricultural product production areas. The region enjoys good air quality, unpolluted water sources, and non-toxic soil residues. Both water and air quality meet national Grade A green standards. The terraced red rice production bases are free from industrial and mining pollution, offering clear advantages for the industrial development of terraced red rice.