Seven Mile River Lily

Seven Mile River Lily

　　The Seven Mile River Lily is a specialty of Qilihe District in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province. Known as the "Hometown of Lilies," Qilihe District has a lily cultivation area of 42,800 mu, forming a large-scale industrial chain. Significant achievements have also been made in extending the lily industry chain and developing deep-processed products. Lily nutritional powder, nutritional cereal, lily fruit crisp, and lily vinegar have been successfully launched on the market, while new products such as lily jujube powder, lily flowers, lily sprouts, and lily chicken have also been developed.

　　Lanzhou Lily is a renowned product of Gansu Province and Lanzhou City, and the most distinctive advantage industry of Qilihe District. Among the four major lily-producing regions in China, Lanzhou Lily ranks first in color, aroma, taste, and appearance, enjoying a certain reputation both domestically and internationally. In recent years, the development of the Lanzhou Lily industry has received high attention and strong support from the central government and provincial and municipal authorities. Qilihe District, following the development strategy of "regionalized layout, production base orientation, integrated operation, standardized management, and socialized services," adheres to the principles of "leveraging regional advantages, promoting pollution-free production, striving for high-quality products, and establishing a strong brand image." This has made Lanzhou Lily a pillar industry for increasing farmers' income and advancing new rural construction. Currently, the district has a total lily cultivation area of 42,000 mu, with an annual output of 15 million kilograms and a total output value of 315 million yuan, accounting for 41% of the district's total agricultural output value. The per capita lily income of farmers is 2,745 yuan, making up 38% of the district’s per capita rural income. There are 65 enterprises using the certified Lanzhou Lily trademark, forming an integrated industrial operation model encompassing production, processing, storage, and sales.

　　Yuanjiawan Village in Xiguoyuan Town, Qilihe District, known as the "No. 1 Lily Village in China," is the main production area for lilies in our city. This year, the district's total lily cultivation area reached 47,000 mu, with an output of 15.3 million kilograms and a total output value of 428.4 million yuan, accounting for approximately 68% of the district's total agricultural output value.

　　Qilihe District adheres to the development strategy of "regionalized layout, production base orientation, and product branding," as well as the principle of "adapting to local conditions, pollution-free production, optimizing quality, and establishing a strong brand image." This has led to the formation of distinct crop and industry belts with clear regional advantages. By 2010, the lily cultivation area reached 42,000 mu, mainly distributed across Xiguoyuan Town, Agan Town, Huangyu Township, Weiling Township, Pengjiaping Town, and Bali Town in Qilihe District (with small amounts also cultivated in Jingu Township of Xigu District and some townships in Yongjing County, Yuzhong County). Lily output reached 15.1 million kilograms, with a total output value of 321.63 million yuan. The per capita lily income of farmers was 3,009 yuan, accounting for 43.6% of the district’s per capita rural income. Eleven hundred and eighty-two mu of provincial and municipal pollution-free standardized demonstration bases have been established, along with 32,000 mu of standardized demonstration zones, and pollution-free certification has been granted to 37,000 mu. Five demonstration towns have been built, with 10,954 planting households. Gradually, a lily processing hub centered around the Lanzhou Lily City in Xiguoyuan Town has been formed, radiating to surrounding towns such as Bali Town, Agan Town, Weiling Township, and Huangyu Township, encompassing a total of 93 lily processing enterprises. The district currently has 39 cold storage facilities with a total capacity of 10.64 million kilograms, storing inventory in two seasons annually for a total possible reserve of 21.28 million kilograms—fully meeting the needs of year-round lily processing and storage. There are over 40 enterprises in the district with an annual processing capacity of 50 tons or more, all of which use the certified "Lanzhou Lily" trademark. Currently, Lanzhou Lily is not only popular in provincial capital cities nationwide such as Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Urumqi, Hangzhou, Kunming, Xi'an, Shenyang, Wuhan, and Xining, but has also expanded to economically developed coastal cities such as Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Shantou. It is exported to countries and regions including the United States, Japan, Thailand, and Southeast Asia, achieving export earnings of one million US dollars in 2009.