Shangtang Tribute Rice

Shangtang Tribute Rice

　　Shangtang Tribute Rice is produced in the northwest of Jiangsu Province, in the lower reaches of the Huai River, bordering Shangtang Town of Sihong County to the west. Sihong County is recognized nationally as an ecological demonstration county, a commercial grain base county, and the hometown of tribute rice. Historically, “Shangtang Tribute Rice” was reserved exclusively for the emperor, renowned for its superior quality. Legend has it that during the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong reign, a court official, bearing a plaque inscribed with the words “as if I were there in person,” was ordered to go to Nanjing to select tribute goods. At the time, Li Jiancheng, a scholar from Sizhou, was tasked with submitting the green-stem sticky rice from Shangtang for the selection. It won first place and was chosen as tribute rice. Since then, Shangtang Tribute Rice has gained widespread fame. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Shangtang Tribute Rice was sent to Beijing on multiple occasions.