Huanglong Walnuts

Huanglong Walnuts

Huanglong Walnuts are a protected geographical indication product.

Huanglong Walnuts are a certified geographical indication trademark.

　　Walnuts are a premium food known for boosting brain health and promoting longevity. Visitors to Huanglong County often receive a box of the county’s specialty—thin-shelled walnuts. These walnuts are not only easy to eat, but according to authoritative assessments, they have low tannin content, high unsaturated fatty acid levels, a pleasant taste, and nutrients that are readily absorbed by the human body, making them highly popular in the market. The one-kilogram walnut gift boxes processed and produced by the Huanglong County Dried Fruits Company are sold at over 100 yuan per box on the market, with the average price of each walnut exceeding 1 yuan. Thin-shelled walnuts have become a hallmark of Huanglong, earning even the praise from calligraphers who have dubbed them “Huanglong Walnuts Are the Best Under Heaven.” Aimed at building a leading industry to enrich the people and strengthen the county, in recent years Huanglong County has targeted the high-end walnut nut market, adhering to a path of industrial development focused on variety optimization, standardization, and scale. Over 40 new dwarf, early-harvest walnut varieties have been introduced and trial-planted, and the county has undertaken and completed numerous national and provincial technical research projects on walnuts. It has overcome key technical challenges such as walnut grafting and standardized production. While continuously growing its own industry, Huanglong has also gradually become a demonstration base for high-quality walnut production, a breeding center for superior walnut seedlings, and a training hub for advanced walnut cultivation techniques across the province and even the nation. Six walnut experts, including Hao Yanbin, the country's top walnut specialist and director of the Beijing Forestry and Fruit Research Institute, conducted on-site evaluations in Huanglong County and unanimously concluded that “Huanglong walnuts lead the nation in standardized orchard establishment, large-scale development, improved variety planting, and scientific management.” In September 2008, at the First China Walnut Conference held in Dayao, Yunnan, the two main walnut varieties grown in Huanglong—“Xiangling” and “Shaanhe No. 5”—won the “Gold Award” and “Silver Award,” respectively. The “Shenglong” brand walnut trademark registered by the county dried fruits company was recognized as a “Famous Trademark of Shaanxi Province” by the Shaanxi Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce in the same year. The protected geographical indication status for Huanglong Walnuts was also approved following expert review organized by the National Quality Supervision and Inspection Administration.

　　 This year, 120,000 mu of walnut trees in Huanglong County came into bearing. Based on normal yields and market forecasts, the county’s total walnut output is expected to exceed 5,000 tons, generating an output value of 200 million yuan. Farmers alone can earn over 5,000 yuan per capita just from walnuts. Seizing the momentum, the county developed an additional 23,000 mu of high-quality walnut varieties in spring, bringing the total walnut cultivation area to 230,000 mu, including 170,000 mu of early-bearing, thin-shelled, improved walnut varieties.

　　 While striving to expand walnut planting, since last year Huanglong County has shifted its focus toward improving industrial quality and efficiency, implementing a series of strong measures to boost walnut production. This year, the county Party committee and government set and implemented targets for constructing “10,000 mu of demonstration orchards, 20,000 mu of newly built orchards, and 30,000 mu of high-efficiency orchards,” intensifying efforts to upgrade old, low-yield orchards, enhancing training for farmer technicians, and increasing assessment rewards for townships. Subsidies for farmers were not only substantial but also meticulously detailed. During the development of 20,000 mu of new orchards, farmers received up to 300 yuan per mu in subsidies from the county based on the quality of planting for each new variety of walnut. The county established detailed standards for standardized walnut orchard construction and inspection procedures, assigning 76 county-level departments to oversee the development of demonstration orchards. Each department was responsible for one village, with those having five or more staff members tasked with developing a 100-mu demonstration orchard, and those with fewer than five staff members developing a 50-mu orchard, using these model orchards to drive high-quality industrial growth. Departments at all levels provided strong support to farmers in terms of technical training, material inputs, and funding, with a total of 400,000 yuan invested in funding alone.

　　 In response to the still significant number of mixed inferior varieties and low-yield, low-efficiency orchards across the county, this year the county also introduced a task to transform low-yield orchards into high-efficiency ones. By adopting a township-wide, step-by-step approach to renovation and upgrading, the county carried out high-grafting on mature trees, providing subsidies to farmers per branch. On average, each tree received a subsidy of 12 yuan. Farmers were encouraged to improve soil fertility, apply fertilizers, and practice rational intercropping to enhance the growth of walnut trees and the quality of the nuts. Those who could intercrop with tall-stem crops but did not were given an 80-yuan subsidy per mu, while those who improved soil and applied fertilizer received technical support and subsidy incentives. It is understood that the county implemented low-yield orchard transformation across as much as 80,000 mu this year.

　　 These measures are steadily enhancing the quality of Huanglong’s walnut industry and walnut products.

　　 “Huanglong enjoys a sound ecological environment with no industrial pollution. Moreover, walnut pests and diseases are very rare, eliminating the need for any pesticide application throughout the entire growing season. Therefore, Huanglong walnuts can truly be called purely natural and very green food,” an expert once commented about Huanglong walnuts, showing that the reputation of “Huanglong Walnuts Are the Best Under Heaven” is no exaggeration.

　　The protected geographical indication area for Huanglong Walnuts covers the entire current administrative region of Huanglong County, Yan’an City, Shaanxi Province.