Qingyang Apples

Qingyang Apples

Qingyang Apples are a geographical indication protected product.

Qingyang Apples are a geographical indication certified trademark.

Qingyang Apples are an agricultural geographical indication product.

　　Qingyang is located between 35°14′28″N and 37°9′13″N, at an altitude of 1,100 to 1,600 meters. It falls within the prime apple-growing zone of the Loess Plateau in northwest China, meeting all seven major ecological indicators and six supplementary indicators required for high-quality apple production. It is recognized as the optimal growing region for premium Fuji apples in China. The six districts and counties of Xifeng, Qingcheng, Ningxian, Heshui, Zhengning, and Zhenyuan have been listed as key national apple-producing counties.

　　Qingyang has a long history of apple cultivation, with records of cultivated crabapple varieties dating back to the Qin and Han dynasties. Since the reform and opening-up, especially in recent years, the municipal Party committee and government have placed high importance on the apple industry, ranking it first among the “three leading industries” for prosperity and urban development. Through effective measures such as government guidance, policy support, demonstration projects, and technical services, they have vigorously implemented national and provincial-level standard apple orchard projects, as well as the three-tier (city, county, township) “Thousand-Hundred-Ten” high-quality apple science and technology demonstration orchard construction project. A development pattern has largely taken shape, characterized by scaled cultivation, standardized production, commercialized processing, branded sales, and industrialized management. Currently, the city has 1.18 million mu of apple orchards, with an annual output of around 400,000 tons and a total output value exceeding 1.4 billion yuan. Among these, 1.16 million mu have obtained national agricultural geographical indication certification; 400,000 mu have been certified as national green food raw material standardized production bases, pollution-free agricultural product origins, and organic conversion product bases. Twenty-two townships have an average per capita apple orchard area of 1.5 mu, and apple income accounts for over 50% of the per capita net income of farmers in 21 townships.

　　Qingyang apples are known for their firm texture, tall and shapely fruits, bright color, thick wax coating, balanced sweetness and acidity, excellent storage and transport resilience, and safe consumption. They are popular in major domestic cities such as Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing, and Hong Kong, as well as in Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and India.

　　Qingyang is one of the prime apple-growing regions in China. Its apples are firm, clean-skinned, brightly colored, and have a well-balanced flavor, making them high-quality produce. Tests show that Qingyang Fuji apples contain 16.5% soluble solids, 4.2 mg/kg of vitamin C, and 0.21% total acid— all higher than the national fresh apple standard GB1051-89. Additionally, according to tests by the Gansu Province Analysis and Testing Center, their sensory, nutritional, and hygiene indicators meet the requirements of the Green Food Temperate Fruit (NY/T884-2004) standard. After five months of storage, their firmness remains at 7.5 kg/cm², higher than that of apples from other regions.

　　Geographical Scope

　　Qingyang City is located in eastern Gansu Province, between 106°21′16″E and 108°42′48″E, and 35°14′28″N and 37°09′13″N. It borders Yijun, Huangling, Fuxian, and Zhidan counties of Shaanxi Province to the east; Wuqi and Dingbian counties of Shaanxi Province and Yanchi County of Ningxia to the north; Tongxin, Guyuan, and Pengyang counties of Ningxia to the west; and Pingliang City of Gansu Province as well as Changwu, Bin County, and Xunyi County of Shaanxi to the south. The city stretches 207 km from north to south and 208 km from east to west, covering a total area of 27,119 square kilometers. The terrain is higher in the north and lower in the south, higher in the east and west with a lower central area, resembling a dustpan—hence the nickname “Longdong Basin.” The city administers seven counties—Qingcheng, Heshui, Zhengning, Zhenyuan, Ningxian, Huachi, and Huan County—and one district, Xifeng District, encompassing 116 townships.

　　The Qingyang apple production area is mainly concentrated in 96 townships in the central and southern parts of the city. These include seven townships in Xifeng District, 15 in Qingcheng County, seven in Huan County, eight in Huachi County, 12 in Heshui County, ten in Zhengning County, 18 in Ningxian County, and 19 in Zhenyuan County.

　　Natural Ecological Environment and Humanistic Historical Factors

　　(1) Soil and Topography: The apple production areas in Qingyang are mostly characterized by plateau and gully landforms. The soils are black loam and loessial soil, with deep layers—loess covering 80–230 meters. The soil is loose in texture, with good air permeability, water retention, and fertility preservation. It is rich in trace elements such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, and zinc, with organic matter content of about 1% or more. The soil oxygen concentration is 10–15%, and the pH value ranges from 7.0 to 8.4, with total salt content below 0.28%. These conditions are conducive to root growth and ensure the water and nutrient supply needed for tree and fruit development, thereby helping improve apple quality. This forms the foundational condition that shapes the distinctive characteristics of Qingyang apples.

　　(2) Hydrology: The apple production areas in Qingyang lie within the gully region of the Loess Plateau in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The city has five major rivers—the Malian, Pu, Hong, Silang, and Hulu—as well as 27 larger tributaries. The average annual total flow is 26.7 cubic meters per second, with a total runoff of 843 million cubic meters. The city’s groundwater reserves amount to approximately 4.339 billion cubic meters, with a dynamic reserve of 37.14 million cubic meters. Annual precipitation in the city ranges from 550 to 680 mm (the national optimal production range requires 490–660 mm), providing moderate rainfall with pure, unpolluted water sources. This precipitation pattern results in relatively low air humidity, which is unfavorable for the occurrence and reproduction of various pests and diseases. As a result, there are fewer types of fruit tree infections, less severe damage, lower pesticide concentrations, and fewer sprayings. Moreover, this region has not yet experienced industrial pollution, thus preserving the apple production environment and regional characteristics.

　　(3) Climate: During the apple growing season (April to October), the apple production areas in Qingyang are situated at altitudes of 880 to 1,400 meters, with light intensity ranging from 35,000 to 50,000 meter-candles and annual sunshine duration of 2,200 to 2,500 hours, including over 300 hours in August and September. The average temperature is 13°C to 18°C, with accumulated temperatures above 10°C ranging from 1,500°C to 3,000°C. In summer (June to August), the average temperature is 19°C to 23°C, and the number of days with absolute high temperatures ≥35°C does not exceed five. During the flowering period, temperatures range from 15°C to 23°C; during flower bud differentiation, 20°C to 25°C; and during fruit development, around 25°C. Additionally, there is a large diurnal temperature variation, with daily temperature differences ranging from 11.6°C to 16.8°C. This allows trees to accumulate more nutrients during the day and lose fewer at night, increasing the sugar, acid, and vitamin content in the fruit, enhancing flavor and producing crisp flesh. These climatic features are highly suitable for apple production and fall within the optimal apple-growing zones identified in the 1981 National Apple Zoning Research Report by the Fruit Tree Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

　　(4) Humanistic History: The cultivation and evolution of apples in Qingyang has a long history, with records of cultivated crabapple varieties dating back to the Qin and Han dynasties. Especially during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, apple cultivation in Qingyang entered a golden age. By the Tang and Song dynasties, varieties such as sand apples, honey apples, red apples, and white apples were widely grown in private courtyards. This is documented in several historical texts and local chronicles of Qingyang. For example, the 1,600-year-old book “Qun Fang Pu” (Register of Flowers) records the planting of sand apples in Huan County. During the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, Zhao Benzhi’s “Qingyang Prefecture Records” listed over 20 cultivated and wild fruit species, including “pear, peach, apricot, plum, jujube, crabapple, sand apple, hawthorn, crabapple, cherry, hazelnut, crabapple, grape, papaya, pomegranate, wild peach, bayberry, pomelo, nashi pear, and walnut.” In 1906 (the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign), there were over 5,400 fruit trees—including peach, apricot, plum, pear, jujube, nashi pear, walnut, and mulberry—in urban and rural areas of Ningxian County. That year, under the “Persuasion and Contract Extension” initiative, 2,237 new trees were planted. During the Republican era, frequent warfare, political instability, and agricultural uncertainty led to a near-collapse of fruit tree production. To this day, many “soaking fruit” varieties still grow sporadically in fields in Ningxian and Qingcheng. The commercial cultivation of “apples” in Qingyang mainly refers to large apples (i.e., Western apples). The cultivation of Western apples began in 1942 when Catholic missionaries introduced five varieties—including Red Delicious, Jonathan, and Granny Smith—to two churches in Sandili Pu and Xifeng Town of Qingyang County for ornamental purposes. True commercial cultivation began in 1953, when the former Northwest Agricultural Research Institute established an apple variety demonstration garden at the Water Conservation Station of the Yellow River Commission in Xifeng. In the new century, Qingyang City designated apple development as one of its featured advantageous industries. In 2002, the Ministry of Agriculture included Qingyang apples in China’s advantageous industrial belt. Qingcheng County was the first to be designated as the province’s only pollution-free apple demonstration county. Later, in 2006, the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry named Zhengning County—the easternmost major apple-producing county in the province—as a pollution-free fruit production demonstration base county.