Yuzhong Cauliflower

Yuzhong Cauliflower

Yuzhong cauliflower is a geographical indication agricultural product.

　　The Yuzhong cauliflower production area is situated in the Loess Plateau, where the Loess Plateau, Inner Mongolia Plateau, and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau converge. It lies in the central part of Gansu Province and is one of the three counties and five districts of Lanzhou City. The Yuzhong cauliflower planting area includes 14 towns in Yuzhong County: Laizibao Township, Dingyuan Town, Heping Town, Sanjiaocheng Township, Chengguan Town, Lianda Township, Xiaguanying Town, Xiaokangying Township, Jinya Town, Qingcheng Town, Xinying Township, Qingshui Township, Yinshan Township, and Mapo Township. The cultivation area covers 120,000 mu, with an annual production of 300,000 tons of Yuzhong cauliflower. Cauliflower, also known as flower vegetable or cabbage flower, with the scientific name Brassica oleracea var. botrytis, was introduced to China from the Mediterranean coast in the early 20th century for cultivation. Cauliflower has been grown in Yuzhong County since 1949, boasting over 70 years of cultivation history, and is one of the main varieties of "Lanzhou Plateau Summer Vegetables." Yuzhong cauliflower features clean, compact, white curds without downy fuzz, short stems, small gaps, no green inner leaves, a high and round shape with a spherical index close to 1, a smooth surface with no obvious protrusions, and a single curd weight of 1–1.50 kg. It is of premium quality, tender and fresh in taste, with a fragrant aroma and a faint sweet and refreshing flavor, making it a fine delicacy among vegetables. Its vitamin C content exceeds 330 mg/kg, soluble total sugar content surpasses 29.8 g/kg, and crude protein content is above 18.5 g/kg.

　　The Yuzhong cauliflower production area is located where the Loess Plateau, Inner Mongolia Plateau, and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau converge, in the central part of Gansu Province, and is one of the three counties and five districts of Lanzhou City. It lies in the eastern suburbs of Lanzhou, with the county seat approximately 38 kilometers from Lanzhou. The region spans longitude 103°49′15″ to 104°34′40″ east and latitude 35°34′20″ to 36°26′30″ north, covering a total area of 3,301.64 square kilometers. The county stretches 96.6 kilometers from north to south and 66.4 kilometers from east to west, with altitudes ranging between 1,480 and 3,670 meters. To the east, it borders Dingxi, Huining, and Jingyuan counties; to the west, it neighbors Lintao across the Maxianshan Mountain range; to the southwest, it is adjacent to Qilihe District and Chengguan District; and to the north, it faces Gaolan County and Baiyin City across the Yellow River. The county administers 8 towns and 15 townships, comprising 268 administrative villages and 1,619 villager groups, with a total population of 426,000, including 388,000 agricultural residents. There are 13 ethnic groups, including Han, Hui, Manchu, Dongxiang, and Salar, among which the Han ethnic group accounts for 99%. The arable land area spans 1.06 million mu, including 360,000 mu of irrigated land, 280,000 mu of guaranteed irrigation land, and 700,000 mu of dryland in mountainous areas, which makes up 66% of the total arable land. The Yuzhong cauliflower planting area includes 14 towns in Yuzhong County: Laizibao Township, Dingyuan Town, Heping Town, Sanjiaocheng Township, Chengguan Town, Lianda Township, Xiaguanying Town, Xiaokangying Township, Jinya Town, Qingcheng Town, Xinying Township, Qingshui Township, Yinshan Township, and Mapo Township. The county has over 60,000 farming households engaged in vegetable cultivation, with a planting area of 110,000 mu and an annual output of 275,000 tons. By 2010, the development plan aimed to expand the planting area to 120,000 mu, with an annual production of 300,000 tons of Yuzhong cauliflower.