Lingou Rice

Lingou Rice

　　Lingou Rice is a specialty of Lingou Village, Xikou Town, Zhen’an County, Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province. The red rice from Lingou has a meaty-red hue, plump grains, and a fragrant aroma. When cooked, it instantly emits a rich fragrance. Once steamed and the pot is uncovered, the room fills with an inviting scent. With each bite, its sweet and long-lasting taste lingers.

　　Lingou Rice comes from Lingou Village, Xikou Town, Zhen’an County. It was once honored as “tribute rice.” In 1900, during the invasion of Beijing by the Eight-Nation Alliance, Empress Dowager Cixi fled to Xi’an. The Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commissioner selected Lingou Rice as an offering. Upon tasting it, Cixi found the rice extraordinarily aromatic, with a fragrance that lingered long and refreshed the senses. She immediately designated it as “tribute rice.” Since then, “Lingou Rice” became an imperial delicacy.

　　Lingou Rice is grown in a place called Yangjiagoukou. Located in the valley of Beiyang Mountain, the terrain is expansive and characterized by karst landforms. At the center of the paddy fields in Yangjiagoukou, there is a spring about the thickness of a bowl, which flows year-round without ceasing. The spring water is light red in color, with an oily texture. It remains cool in summer and never freezes in winter. It irrigates the paddy fields here. Thanks to this magical water, the rice produced in these fields is exceptionally fragrant, especially in the core plots surrounding the spring, where the aroma is truly unparalleled.

　　The variety of Lingou Rice is an ancient local type known as “cold-water red.” With a history of around a hundred years, its grains are meaty-red and plump. Once cooked, Lingou Rice gives off a strong fragrance immediately, and when the lid is lifted, the aroma fills the room. Hence, it has earned the praise of “one household cooking rice, the fragrance drifting ten miles,” and is also known as “fragrant rice.”

　　After the liberation, Lingou Rice remained well-known. In 1955, the Shaanxi Provincial Committee selected 200 jin of premium Lingou Rice, which was served to foreign guests by the Foreign Affairs Reception Office. In 1961, following directives from higher authorities, the grain department designated it as a top-grade specialty rice of Zhen’an and began purchasing it at a premium price. In 1966, rice farmers from Chengjia River selected 50 jin of premium rice and presented it to Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing. To this day, thanks to improved cultivation and management techniques, Lingou Rice has become even better in quality and greater in yield. It has become the best gift for locals to give to relatives and friends. During harvest season, merchants from all over flock to purchase it.