Qindu Qin Pepper

Qindu Qin Pepper

　　Also known as "Qin Pepper," it is a specialty of the county, characterized by its intense spiciness, evenly spaced wrinkles, slender pod shape, bright red color, and the ability to float in soup. Historical records from the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign in the Qing Dynasty (1906) indicate that around 80,000 to 90,000 jin were sold outside the region annually. Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, pepper cultivation was mainly distributed in the lower plateau areas, with fewer plantings in the middle and upper plateaus, and was primarily for local consumption. After the founding of the PRC, the cultivation area expanded year by year, with varieties including local landraces, Yao County’s “Yiwo Feng,” “Xinong 20–7,” “8212,” “8819,” and others. In 1975, the practice shifted from direct seeding and pure planting in fallow fields to intercropping and transplanting from seedbeds. After the 1980s, transplanting from seedbeds became more widely adopted.