Chenggu Yuanhu

Chenggu Yuanhu

Chenggu Yuanhu is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　    Chenggu Yuanhu Chenggu County Agricultural Technology Extension Center

　　    Yuanhu is a commonly used bulk medicinal herb. Its extract contains over 20 types of alkaloids, mainly offering effects such as promoting blood circulation, regulating qi, and relieving pain. It has similar efficacy to Notoginseng and holds great potential as a substitute, with promising market prospects. It is widely used in clinical applications, commonly for chest and rib pain, epigastric and abdominal pain, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, postpartum blood stasis, and bruises, playing an important role in pharmaceutical production.

　　    Shaanxi Province’s Chenggu County is the largest yuanhu planting base in China. In recent years, benefiting from favorable market conditions, the income from growing yuanhu has significantly increased, leading to a year-by-year expansion in planting area. In 2015, the county’s planting area reached 85,000 mu, with 25 yuanhu specialized cooperatives, 2 provincial-level “One Village One Product” demonstration towns, 4 provincial-level “One Village One Product” demonstration villages, and 1 provincial-level modern agricultural park, making it truly the “Hometown of Yuanhu in China.”

　　    Chenggu County has been cultivating yuanhu for over 40 years. The county’s water is unpolluted and the soil is fertile, making it a natural suitable habitat for yuanhu. Yuanhu cultivation features a short growth cycle, simple management, and high economic returns. The growth period is only five months, with harvesting taking place at the beginning of May each year, making it an ideal preceding crop for rice. Over the past decade, as the application of yuanhu in the medical field has expanded and demand has increased, cultivation benefits have been promising. According to calculations by the county agricultural technology station in 2015, each mu can yield about 480 kg of fresh yuanhu. Compared to the returns from wheat or rapeseed grown within the same period, profits are 5–10 times higher; the gross income per mu can reach around 8,000 yuan, with average planting costs of 4,000–4,200 yuan per mu and a net profit of 3,000–4,500 yuan. In 2015, the county’s yuanhu planting area increased by 0.3 million mu compared to the previous year, with total production reaching 39,100 tons, a 30.3% increase, and a 44% rise compared to the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, accounting for approximately 65% of the national total. Currently, yuanhu is mainly concentrated in eight major producing towns south of the Han River, including Dongjiaying, Shangyuan Guan, Tianming, Erl i, and Wudu, which have driven 18 towns across the county and involved 43,500 farming households in yuanhu cultivation. Two mu of demonstration planting bases and 12 demonstration villages have been established, along with nearly 100 professional brokers. The local Baiyun Company is a key processor of yuanhu, with its “Yuanhu Pain Relief Tablets” consuming over 30 tons of yuanhu annually. From 2010 to 2013, the price of dried yuanhu reached 45–55 yuan per kg, making it an important source of income for local farmers on their path to prosperity.

　　    According to local authorities, Chenggu County will take the opportunity of applying for national geographical indication protection for “Chenggu Yuanhu” to further expand the scale of its traditional Chinese medicine base, support key leading enterprises, enhance technological support, accelerate the development of specialized farmer cooperatives, and strive to create a sound framework featuring large-scale planting, standardized construction, park-driven development, and socialized services. This will help grow, strengthen, and optimize the traditional Chinese medicine industry, making it a true pillar of Chenggu County’s economic development and farmers’ income growth.