Gaosu Rice

Gaosu Rice

　　Rice

　　Rice The Gaosu rice from Shuyang County is widely renowned. Whether served in banquets at restaurants and hotels across the city or on the dining tables of ordinary households, people love the rice cooked with Gaosu rice, praising its beautiful color and fragrant aroma. They often say, “Gaosu rice, its fragrance wafts for miles.” Since ancient times, Gaosu Town has enjoyed the reputation of being the “Northeast Granary” of Shuyang. Now, it serves as a high-quality japonica rice production base in Jiangsu Province. The premium japonica rice produced here is in high demand and sells well in major cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Kunming, Guiyang, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Qingdao, winning widespread favor among consumers.

　　Gaosu Town is located in the northeast of Shuyang County. It has a long history and fertile land, with soil mainly consisting of black and yellow earth, slightly alkaline. According to local elders, in ancient times, this area was originally a beach along the sea. The beach was overgrown with wild grass, and there was a raised piece of land in the middle. Why could good crops grow here after it was a beach with grass? Legend has it that the Third Daughter of the Dragon King, feeling bored staying deep in the Dragon Palace under the East Sea, longed to explore the land above the sea. So she quietly slipped out of the palace and came to the shore. When the plants and grasses on the beach saw the beautiful Third Daughter of the Dragon King, they burst into bloom with joy. Delighted, the Third Daughter sprinkled dewdrops over all the plants and seedlings on the tidal flats, and the fragrance of rouge and powder from her hands drifted down with them. As a result, all the vegetation in the area became fragrant. Farmers from nearby, hearing the fragrance and learning that the Third Daughter of the Dragon King had visited, believed this to be a blessed land, so they came to settle here one after another. Diligent farmers began to farm and weave here, producing plump crops and full-grained harvests. That’s why the rice grown here later made for whiter and more fragrant meals compared to rice from other areas. People say it is related to the story of the Dragon King's daughter scattering fragrance and pearls. Of course, this remains just a legend.

　　In the past, the Gaosu area did not grow rice but only dryland crops, including some upland rice, which yielded very low output. Starting in 1970, Gaosu underwent agricultural restructuring, converting large areas of dry farmland to paddy fields for rice cultivation. There are multiple reasons why high-quality rice can be grown in Gaosu. First, the land is fertile, with soil mainly composed of black and yellow earth, and the soil pH value is close to 7.5, slightly alkaline, making it highly suitable for rice cultivation. Furthermore, once rice farming took off at scale in Gaosu, technical support also continuously improved. The town has an agricultural technology station, and villages have agricultural technicians, providing a full range of services for rice cultivation, management, pest control, and processing. Another key reason is the use of superior rice varieties. The rice grown here consists of high-quality strains cultivated by the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, such as “Zaofeng No. 9” and “Sunong 7203”.