Hengshan Lamb

Hengshan Lamb

Hengshan lamb is a protected geographical indication product.

　　A specialty of Hengshan County in Shaanxi Province and a nationally recognized geographical indication product in China. Hengshan lamb is known for its tender texture, balanced fat-to-lean ratio, high protein and low fat content, absence of gamey taste, rich aroma, and unique flavor. It has been hailed as the "ginseng of meats." With its unique texture, rich nutritional value, and significant health and anti-cancer properties, Hengshan lamb is deeply loved by many and is truly a local specialty.

　　Hengshan lamb is primarily produced in the hilly and gully regions of the southern part of the county. Due to the special climate, large diurnal temperature variations, rugged terrain, and limited accessibility, grazing sheep face challenges in finding food and must move more, resulting in lower fat content and better muscle elasticity in the meat. Authentic Hengshan lamb can only be achieved using the area’s water and ingredients like local green onions. From a botanical and nutritional perspective, Hengshan County features a wide variety of cold-resistant and drought-tolerant plants, mainly consisting of natural legumes, composites, and grasses as forage—especially alfalfa and other legumes, which have relatively low moisture content. Sheep fed on these forages tend to have stronger disease resistance, and the lamb they produce is richer in amino acids, lower in cholesterol, and of higher nutritional value. Eating this lamb is believed to help strengthen the body and enhance kidney and yang energy. Additionally, the local vegetation is rich in medicinal herbs, which help prevent diseases when consumed by the sheep. Over 60 aromatic herbs, including thyme, multi-rooted onion, ironweed, sand leek, sand garlic, and fragrant mugwort, along with alfalfa and soybeans rich in methionine, give Hengshan lamb its rich, delicate flavor and eliminate any gamey taste.

　　Production Overview

　　Building on stall-fed sheep farming, the county’s sheep industry has developed in a more scientific and sustainable direction. The "Yangzhongwang" wool processing plant in the county exports garments both domestically and internationally, while lamb processing factories such as "Xiangcaoyuan" enjoy a strong reputation in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Sheep farming has adopted a "company + association + farmer" model, forming an initial industrial chain. In 2009, the county added 220,000 mu of artificially planted grass, maintaining a total of 3 million mu. The sheep population reached 1.3 million, with an average income of 2,000 yuan from raising five sheep per household and 8,000 yuan from raising 20 sheep, making livestock farming account for 70% of farmers' income. The production included 9,476 tons of lamb, 320 tons of cashmere, 552 tons of wool, and 400,000 sheepskins, with the livestock industry’s output value exceeding 800 million yuan, accounting for over 60% of the county’s agricultural output. In 2010, the sheep population reached 1.391 million, with 738,000 retained and 653,000 slaughtered. Cashmere production was 412 tons, wool 520 tons, sheepskins 600,000, and lamb 9,795 tons. The livestock industry’s output value surpassed 840 million yuan, with sheep farming alone contributing 450 million yuan. In the early 21st century, there were Hengshan stewed lamb restaurants in Yulin, Jingbian, Xi’an, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Shanxi, and Guangzhou. Hengshan County became a national base county for goat hides (Ministry of Agriculture), a standardized production demonstration county for cashmere goats (Standardization Administration of China), a breeding base and main production area for Northern Shaanxi White Cashmere Goats (Shaanxi Provincial Department of Agriculture), and an advantage specialty county for Northern Shaanxi White Cashmere Goats among China's top 100 counties (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences). It also received protection for the geographical indication of Hengshan lamb.

　　Geographical Indication Product Protection

　　On September 3, 2010, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China officially announced “Hengshan lamb as a national geographical indication product” in Announcement No. 95 of 2010.

　　Protected Area

　　The protected area for Hengshan lamb as a geographical indication product includes the administrative regions of 19 townships and farms in Hengshan County, Shaanxi Province: Hengshan Town, Gaozhen Town, Dangcha Town, Boluo Town, Tawan Town, Shiwan Town, Wu Town, Xiangshui Town, Dian Shi Town, Zhao Shipan Town, Wei Jialou Township, Shi Yaogou Township, Han Cha Township, Ai Haomao Township, Shuangcheng Township, Nan Ta Township, Baijie Township, Leilongwan Township, and Shima Wa Farm.