Stone Ladder Onions

Stone Ladder Onions

Stone Ladder Onions are a product with a geographical indication for agricultural products.

　　The Shitilizi Township in Hutubi County is an ethnic township characterized by "pastoralism as the main industry with a combination of herding and farming." It has an average annual cultivated land area of nearly 50,000 mu and 780,000 mu of usable grassland. The township has a total of 1,579 households and a population of nearly 7,000. Among the total population, the Kazakh ethnic group accounts for 84%, making it a multi-ethnic township inhabited by seven ethnic groups: Kazakh, Han, Hui, Uyghur, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Tatar. In recent years, Shitilizi Township has focused on adjusting its industrial structure and vigorously developing the production of green, pollution-free onions. In particular, the promotion and application of onion seedling transplanting and green, pollution-free onion cultivation technologies have significantly increased farmers' incomes.

　　The main onion varieties planted in Shitilizi Township include Xinjiang White Skin, American Fuxue Onion, and Japanese White Snow Onion. Among them, Xinjiang White Skin is a local variety, typically yielding 2,000–3,000 kilograms per mu. American Fuxue Onion and Japanese White Snow Onion are mid-to-late maturing varieties, known for their high quality and yield, with an average yield of over 5,000 kilograms per mu, making them the currently promoted main varieties. In 2004, Shitilizi Township successfully registered the “Awei Onion” trademark. In 2005, it obtained certification as a pollution-free agricultural product production base at the autonomous region level. In 2007, it received green agricultural product production certification. In 2010, it was awarded the geographical indication for the agricultural product "Shitilizi Onions" by the National Ministry of Agriculture.

　　In the development of the onion industry, Shitilizi Township adheres to the path of cooperative production and order-based development. It actively broadens the development paths of the onion industry through rural cooperative economic organizations, introducing agricultural product processing enterprises, and exploring models such as farmers contributing land as shares, thereby driving the production of green, pollution-free vegetables across the township and benefiting local farmers.

　　Stone Ladder Onions

　　Geographic Scope

　　The protected geographic area for the Stone Ladder Onions geographical indication includes: five villages within the jurisdiction of Shitilizi Township in Hutubi County—Awitan Village, Baiyanghe Village, Donggou Village, Huostobie Village—as well as mountainous dry land within the current administrative area and Dongtan Village in Erlidian Town. It borders Ashili Township of Changji City to the east, extends into the hinterland of the Tianshan Mountains in the southern mountainous region, and adjoins Hejing County of Bayingolin Prefecture in southern Xinjiang. To the west, it faces Qergou Town of Hutubi County, while to the north, its desert areas connect with Fuyun County of the Altay region. The area stretches approximately 300 kilometers from north to south, with geographical coordinates between 75°60′–80°20′ east longitude and 46°30′–48°85′ north latitude. The protected area spans 3,000 hectares, producing 60,000 tons of Stone Ladder Onions annually.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　(1) External Sensory Characteristics: Stone Ladder Onions are flat-round in shape, relatively large and well-formed. Both the skin and flesh are white and easy to peel. They have a crisp and tender texture, abundant juice, rich flavor, a strong spicy taste, low fiber content, and a high edible rate, making them highly popular among vegetable processing plants. (2) Internal Quality Indicators: Stone Ladder Onions are high in nutritional and health value, with reduced vitamin C ≥1.5 (mg/100g), rich in B vitamins—including vitamin B1 ≥0.07 (mg/100g) and niacin ≥0.2 (mg/100g)—as well as various minerals such as calcium (125–140 mg/kg), phosphorus (80–85 mg/kg), potassium (680–690 mg/kg), magnesium (26–30 mg/kg), iron (2.5–3.5 mg/kg), sodium (48–53 mg/kg), and zinc (0.1–0.2 mg/kg). (3) They meet the safety requirements of the Green Food – Alliums Standard (NY/T747—2003).