Xiaozhan Rice

Xiaozhan Rice

Xiaozhan Rice is a protected geographical indication product.

Xiaozhan Rice is a certified geographical indication trademark.

　　  Tianjin specialty Xiaozhan Rice is one of China’s famous high-quality rice varieties, originating from the Xiaozhan area in the southern suburbs of Tianjin. It began in the Song and Liao periods, became well-known in the late Qing Dynasty, and was once used as imperial court rice. The former military stronghold “Xiaozhan” is located here, hence the name Xiaozhan Rice. “White with a hint of green, glossy, sticky and fragrant, with a delicious taste and sweet aftertaste” are the unique characteristics of Xiaozhan Rice.

　　  Xiaozhan is located in the southern suburbs of Tianjin, about 30 kilometers from the city center. Historical records indicate that in order to enable southern rice varieties to thrive in the north—reducing the burden of transporting “southern grain to the north”—in 1600, Ming Dynasty's Baoding Regional Inspector Wang Yingjiao cultivated 5,000 mu of rice in the Xiaozhan area. This marked the earliest cultivation of Xiaozhan Rice. During the Qing Dynasty, Tianjin garrison commander Zhou Shengchuan introduced water from the South Canal to grow rice. Due to the irrigation water containing a high amount of silt and humus, the quality of Xiaozhan Rice became excellent.

　　   Xiaozhan Rice is produced in Xiaozhan Town, Jinnan District, Tianjin. Its cultivation began in the late Qing Dynasty and it was once tribute rice for the Qing imperial family.

　　    A Liao Dynasty stele records: “Among the four commanderies of Youyan, Jimen is the foremost, covering a thousand square li, leading all cities, with red rice fragrant in the fields, indeed a fertile land of fish and salt.” This is one of the earlier written records of rice cultivation in Tianjin. During the Song-Liao standoff, in the fourth year of the Chunhua era of the Northern Song (993), “18,000 troops from various prefectures and garrisons were mobilized to build a 600-li-long dike, install sluice gates, divert pond water for irrigation” and “large-scale rice paddies were developed to ensure food supply.” At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Yingjiao was appointed as the Tianjin Coastal Defense Regional Inspector and implemented rice farming through the battalion system, using the polder cultivation method from the south. He named and organized the polders according to ten Chinese characters: Qiu (求), Ren (仁), Cheng (诚), Zu (足), Yu (愚), Shi (食), Li (力), Gu (古), Suo (所), and Gui (贵), collectively referred to as the “Ten-Character Polders.” The polder rice cultivation method played a significant role in the subsequent development of rice farming in Tianjin.

　　   Xiaozhan in southeastern Tianjin borders the Bohai Sea to the east, situated between the Dagukou coastal defense and the Tianjin urban area. Originally a reclaimed seabed, it was part of the grasslands under the jurisdiction of a Ming Dynasty salt field. After the Tianjin Church Incident in 1870 (the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign), Li Hongzhang, Viceroy of Zhili, deployed his subordinate Zhou Shengchuan’s troops, known as the “Sheng Army,” to garrison and train at Majiaguan in Qing County, Zhili, while also overseeing the construction of Xincheng Fort. The Sheng Army built the Majiashin Avenue between Majiaguan and Xincheng (now part of Tanggu), establishing relay stations along the route. Every 40 li featured a major station, and every 10 li had a minor station, totaling four major and eleven minor stations. In the first year of the Guangxu reign (1875), the Sheng Army relocated from Majiaguan to Laoshuitao, the fifth relay station west of Dagukou. Soldiers commonly referred to it as “Xiaozhan.”

　　   The Xiaozhan rice-growing areas along both banks of the Machang Reduction Canal use water from the South Canal and the Hai River to irrigate paddy fields. The Zhang River flows through the Loess Plateau, carrying large amounts of silt into the South Canal. According to measurements by relevant departments, each ton of loess contains 0.8–1.5 kg of nitrogen, 1.5 kg of phosphorus, and 20 kg of potassium. The abundant deposition of organic fertilizer enriched the soil of Xiaozhan, neutralizing salinity and transforming alkaline land into fertile ground, creating unique conditions ideal for high-quality rice growth. Until the liberation of Jinnan in 1948, Xiaozhan Rice production was only made possible by restricting water usage upstream of the Machang Reduction Canal.

　　   As a hybrid rice variety, Xiaozhan Rice benefits from a wide range of high-quality genetic sources. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Jianghuai japonica rice was used as the female parent, and among the more commonly grown varieties in Jinnan District was Honglian Rice. Korean and Japanese rice varieties were also introduced, including Chūsei Ginbōshu (commonly referred to as Ginbō) and Aikoku (also called King Kong Rice). Local farmers used the “single spike selection” method to cultivate the Shuiyuan 300 Li variety from the Shuiyuan system. Xiaozhan Rice has been praised as “Ginbō fragrant rice renowned far and wide, Shuiyuan 300 grains are treasures.” There are various rice planting methods in the Xiaozhan area, including spring rice (direct-seeded) and late rice (wheat stubble-seeded), with spring rice being of superior quality, while late rice allows for double cropping with wheat, yielding higher productivity.

　　   Xiaozhan Rice is not only high in quality but also boasts high yields. Its grains are oval-shaped, slightly long, light green, uniformly sized, translucent and smooth like jade, fragrant, sticky yet soft, refreshing and not sticky when cooled, remaining soft even when cold, and rich in nutrients. “Xiaozhan Rice” was once the only rice variety in China named after its production region and was also the country’s first regional certification trademark for a grain crop.