Songyang Sun-Cured Tobacco

Songyang Sun-Cured Tobacco

Songyang Sun-Cured Tobacco is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Product Name: Songyang Sun-Cured Tobacco

　　Place of Origin: Lishui

　　Product Characteristics: Large, thick leaves with rich aroma and strong flavor

　　Product Introduction: Songyang Sun-Red Tobacco, also known as Songyang Sun-Cured Tobacco, is famous for its large, thick leaves and strong, aromatic flavor. It is exported to 27 countries and regions including Japan, the former Soviet Union, and East Germany, and has been awarded prizes at the Panama International Exposition. It is one of China’s traditional export products. Songyang has also been designated as one of the seven major sun-cured tobacco export bases in China. According to statistics from 1981 to 1987, the county exported 33,000 dan of tobacco leaves, generating a profit of 17.5 million yuan over the seven-year period.

　　Product History: Songyang Sun-Cured Tobacco has a long history. Historical records state: "During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, merchants from Fujian who traveled to Luzon (now the Philippines) brought back tobacco seeds, which were widely cultivated in Yong’an, Fujian." "In the late Ming Dynasty, when Wu Sangui led the Qing army into the Central Plains and advanced southward to attack Fujian, the people of Fujian, unable to bear the harassment, fled with their families to Zhejiang and settled in Songyang, bringing with them the cultivation of tobacco."

　　Geographical Scope

　　The planting area for Songyang Sun-Red Tobacco is distributed along the Songyin Stream and its tributaries, at an altitude of 140–170 meters. Songyang Sun-Red Tobacco (also called Songyang Sun-Cured Tobacco) is internationally known for its large, thick leaves and rich, fragrant taste. It is mainly sold to countries such as Egypt, Mali, Guinea, Germany, the Philippines, Belgium, and Kuwait. It has won awards at the Panama International Exposition and is one of China’s traditional export products. Songyang has also been designated as one of the seven major sun-cured tobacco export bases in China.

　　Special Qualities

　　The tobacco shreds for sun-Red Tobacco are planed out. Fresh tobacco leaves are clamped with leaf clamps and, after being sun-dried, turn a bright red color with a strong tobacco aroma. When planing the shreds, dozens of tobacco leaves are stacked and tightly secured on an inclined planing bed. The planer resembles a carpenter’s plane but has a much larger blade bed to accommodate the shaved tobacco shreds; the planer is about 60–70 cm long and over 30 cm wide, resembling a miniature boat. To lubricate the process, oil is often applied, which also gives the shreds a glossy, attractive appearance.

　　Cultural Stories

　　Through long-term cultivation, repeated seed selection, introduction, hybridization, and clonal breeding experiments, Songyang tobacco farmers have developed varieties such as “Fan-Shan Tobacco,” “Ox-Tongue Tobacco,” and “Song Select No. 14.” In particular, “Song Select No. 14” features high yield, superior quality, early maturation, and disease resistance. In 1988, Wangsong Township conducted a “Songyang Sun-Cured Tobacco Model” experiment, achieving a record yield of 280 kg of tobacco per mu, 25% higher than the county average.