Tieling Rice

Tieling Rice

Tieling rice is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Tieling rice is cultivated in Tieling City, Heilongjiang Province, which lies at the lower boundary of the third and upper boundary of the fourth accumulated temperature zones in the province, within the premium cold-region black soil agricultural belt. The area has a continental temperate climate with distinct seasons, concurrent rain and heat, an average annual effective accumulated temperature of 2,418°C, average annual precipitation of 638 mm, and annual sunshine duration of 2,348 hours, along with a frost-free period of 110–120 days. The soil is rich in organic matter and highly fertile, with good permeability. There are 35 rivers of varying sizes, including three major water systems—Hulan River, XinanCha River, and Balan River—all part of the Songhua River basin. Located at the source of these three major river systems, 80% of Tieling’s rice-growing areas use gravity irrigation. The water is clean and unpolluted. Coupled with ample sunlight and fertile land, these natural conditions provide an ideal environment for high-quality rice production. Tieling rice features slender grains, semi-translucent texture, clean white color with a glossy sheen. When cooked, it emits a rich aroma, and the grains have a soft yet chewy texture with a slight gloss on the surface that retains its excellent taste even when cooled.

　　Tieling City is situated in the premium cold-region black soil agricultural belt, at the lower boundary of the third and upper boundary of the fourth accumulated temperature zones in Heilongjiang Province. It enjoys a continental temperate climate with distinct seasons and concurrent rain and heat. The area has an average annual effective accumulated temperature of 2,418°C, average annual precipitation of 638 mm, and annual sunshine duration of 2,348 hours, along with a frost-free period of 110–120 days. The soil is highly fertile, with an organic matter content of 53.76 grams per kilogram, pH value of 5.56, available phosphorus of 28.93 ppm, quick-acting potassium of 134.8 ppm, and effective soil layer thickness of 25.61 cm, offering excellent permeability. The city has 35 rivers and 203 ponds and lakes. Its main water systems—the Hulan, XinanCha, and Balan Rivers—all belong to the Songhua River basin. As the origin of these three river systems, 80% of the rice-growing areas in Tieling use gravity-fed irrigation with clean, unpolluted water. Together with abundant sunlight and fertile soil, these factors create optimal natural conditions for producing high-quality rice.

　　Rice cultivation in Tieling has a history of over 100 years. Historical records indicate that rice was first planted here as early as 1879 (the fifth year of the Guangxu reign in the Qing Dynasty). In 1938, large-scale land reclamation began, along with the construction of irrigation channels, soil improvement, and comprehensive farmland development. Over the years, through accumulated experience and continuous improvement in farming techniques, advanced methods such as wide-row direct seeding, water seedling cultivation, dry-seeded rice with sparse planting, ultra-sparse planting, the “three super” rice cultivation technique, and tray seedling throwing were introduced and promoted, placing Tieling’s rice cultivation technology at the forefront nationally. In recent years, while ensuring yield and quality, Tieling has focused on developing high-end, green, and premium-quality rice. To effectively improve rice quality, the city has established a Green Food Office, formed a Rice Industry Association, built organic fertilizer production bases, and implemented strict controls across all stages—from seed selection and seedling cultivation to field management, input supply, and production processing—ensuring full transparency across the entire industry chain. At the same time, the city actively encourages the development of specialized rice farming cooperatives, adopting a unified management model known as the “Five Unifications”: unified high-quality varieties, unified procedures, unified input supply, unified field management, and unified harvesting and sales. This approach ensures rigorous quality control from the ground up. Currently, Tieling has 550,000 mu of rice fields under cultivation, with 400,000 mu under green and organic monitoring. Among these, 300,000 mu are part of a national-level standardized production base for green food rice raw materials, there are 11 demonstration zones for rice cultivation covering 10,000 mu each as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture, and one provincial-level demonstration base for organic rice production featuring duck-rice cohabitation.

　　Over the past few years, Tieling has earned numerous honors, including China’s Green Ecological Rice Demonstration City, National Advanced County in Grain Production, and National Eco-Demonstration Zone. Yuan Longping, known as the father of China’s hybrid rice, personally inscribed the words “Green Yichun, Green Rice, Cold-Region Japonica Rice, Benefiting Humanity” for Tieling’s green rice base. Tieling rice has been exhibited multiple times at the China Green Food Expo and the Harbin Economic and Trade Fair, earning titles such as “Assured Rice” and the Gold Award at the Green Food Expo. Major varieties of Tieling rice include: Longjing 21, Longjing 31, Longjing 39, Longqingdao 3, Jiahe 1, and Zhonglongxiangjing 1. These varieties are characterized by their jade-like white color, crystal-clear grains, sweet and tender taste, unique and rich nutrition. They emit a strong fragrance during cooking and maintain excellent texture even when cooled, making them essential delicacies on the dining table.

　　The production area of Tieling rice includes the administrative regions of Tieling Town, Shuangfeng Town, Taoshan Town, Gongnong Township, Nianfeng Korean Ethnic Township, and Wangyang Township in Tieling City, Heilongjiang Province; Dongsheng Farm and Wuhua Farm under Tieling Forestry Bureau; Shichang Forest Farm and Shenlin Forest Farm under Taoshan Forestry Bureau; as well as Maolin Forest Farm, Weilin Management Office, and Tieling Farm under Shuangfeng Forestry Bureau.