6 | DISCOVER SHANXI Friday, September 25, 2020 CHINA DAILY Emerging industry boosts rural growth

By YUAN SHENGGAO cation — in astragalus is 0.04 per­ cent in China. But the content in Shanxi province is putting its Hunyuan’s products is more than hopes on the emerging herbal tea 0.16 percent on average, Zhang industry to revive its rural econo­ explained. my and help to reduce poverty in For this reason, Hunyuan astrag­ the countryside. alus became a geographical indica­ Tea made from Shanxi’s medical tion­protected product in 2014. herbs such as astragalus, forsythia, To increase added value for the chrysanthemum, wolfberry and product, Hunyuan’s astragalus is sea buckthorn are increasingly currently widely used in making recognized by consumers through­ herbal teas, in addition to produc­ out the country. ing medicines. As the market size of the industry The county recently established grows, more farmers in Shanxi are an astragalus tea industrial park to engaged in planting medical herbs engage more individuals and busi­ and producing and selling herbal nesses in the production, research tea products. They see the industry Workers sort astragalus roots and development and sales of the an important means to increase before they are delivered to herbal tea products. income and relieve poverty. herbal tea producers. Hengshan Typical Herbal Tea When early autumn came in the HUO FEIFEI / FOR CHINA DAILY Industry founded by local entre­ middle of September in the high­ preneur Zhao Fugui was the first altitude, mountainous village of company settled in the industrial Daqiao in Hunyuan county, local collected from his village are espe­ park. farmer Zhang Ji was busy cially popular among medical herb With a total investment of 170 harvesting astragalus roots on his purchasers. million yuan, the enterprise’s herb­ farm. “It takes six years for the astraga­ al tea production facility is sched­ “I estimated my family’s total lus to mature, so the quality of the uled to be operational in two years. A sales representative from Shanxi province introduces herbal tea products to a visitor during the China income from selling the herb this product is ensured,” Zhang “Upon completion, our company International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing. RUAN YANG / FOR CHINA DAILY year should be more than 20,000 explained. will be capable of producing 160­ yuan ($2,930), given the total out­ According to Zhang, the total million­yuan worth of astragalus put of 650 kilograms and the price growing area of astragalus is more tea a year,” Zhao said. of over 32 yuan a kilo,” Zhang said. than 1,300 hectares in Daqiao vil­ Hengshan Tea Industry, founded Zhang began to see substantial lage, with per capita growing area by the Ciyao township government growth in profit from growing of 1.3 hectares. in Hunyuan, is another major Trade show boasts the astragalus in 2016. Hunyuan county in northern astragalus tea producer in the park. “I discovered the price of astrag­ Shanxi is renowned for its astraga­ According to Wang Zhuoxiang, alus roots grew steadily since the lus industry. Locally produced head of the Ciyao township govern­ early 2010s. However, sales were astragalus has been used for medi­ ment, the company can produce 15 not good because of poor road con­ cine production for more than metric tons of herbal tea products a benefits of herbal tea nectivity,” Zhang said. 1,500 years, according to Zhang year. Zhang and his fellow villagers Jiuying, head of the county’s herbal “This is a major poverty­reliev­ built a road to link the village and medication development center. ing project founded by the town­ mum and sea buckthorn are widely ry leaves, astragalus roots, chrysan­ the rest of the county in 2016. As a “Astragalus can be found in ship government,” Wang said, used in the production of herbal themum flowers and wolfberry result, the villager welcomed more many parts of China, including adding it mainly purchases ingre­ teas in Shanxi due to their ready fruits. dealers to buy the herb. Gansu, Shandong, Hebei and dients from impoverished fami­ availability and high quality. Zhu Jie, a business visitor from “We earned 16,000 yuan that Sichuan provinces. However, lies.“Last year, we bought more Shanxi’s herbal teas have been Shanghai, said it was the first time year, which immediately lift my astragalus in Hunyuan is especially than 15 tons of ingredients from 86 brewed and consumed for thou­ that he drank the authentic Shanxi family from poverty,” Zhang said, famous for its quality,” Zhang poor families in Ciyao.” sands of years. herbal teas. adding that his astragalus farm Jiuying said. The production of herbal teas in “I am a lover of traditional teas. now grows to more than 5 hectares. The average content of saponin Guo Yanjie contributed to Officials aim to create Shanxi shares some similarity with But I was pleasantly surprised with Zhang said the astragalus roots — the effective ingredient for medi­ this story. stronger brand traditional teamaking in the rest of the herbal teas, considering their the country, which includes tech­ unique tastes and fragrances,” Zhu for products and niques such as drying, baking and said. increase awareness fermenting. Before the Xiamen fair, Shanxi’s Forsythia becomes boon for business However, unlike traditional teas herbal tea products were also exhib­ that use tea leaves as their ingredi­ ited at the China International Fair By YUAN SHENGGAO ents, many parts of herbs, including for Trade in Services, held in Beijing By YUAN SHENGGAO leaves, fruits and roots, can be used from Sept 4­9. Customers can taste a variety of for making herbal teas in Shanxi. To help improve recognition of In Yicheng county in the south of authentic herbal products in Shanxi There are nearly 300 invention pat­ Shanxi’s herbal tea, governments Shanxi province, local businesspeo­ at an ongoing trade show held from ents related to herbal tea produc­ and businesses in Shanxi have ple and officials are happy to see a Thursday to Friday in Taiyuan, capi­ tion, according to local officials. launched a series of branding cam­ centuries­old industry relating to tal of the North China province. Some herbal teas can help control paigns since the beginning of this the medical herb of forsythia devel­ More than 200 herbal tea prod­ body temperature and flush out tox­ year. op into an extended value chain cov­ ucts are on display across 12 exhibi­ ic substances, while others are good During a promotional fair for ering traditional Chinese medicines, tion areas covering 3,000 square for immunity, sleep or digestion, local herbal teas in Taiyuan on tea beverage and tourism. meters at the Taiyuan Coal Transac­ experts said. March 20, local businesses founded Forsythia is a medical herb com­ tion Center. Prior to the ongoing event in Tai­ the Shanxi Herbal Tea Industrial monly seen in the north of China. It In addition to exhibitions, sever­ yuan, Shanxi’s herbal tea products Alliance, which is responsible for has been used for making medicines al forums and workshops are have been displayed at various trade the promotion of herbal tea prod­ for thousands of years. being held at this two­day event, shows in China. ucts, drafting industrial standards According to TCM experts, medi­ with specialists and industry During the 2020 China Interna­ and helping members register their cines using forsythia as ingredient insiders sharing their insights into tional Fair for Investment and Trade trademarks while designing corpo­ can help people control their body the emerging herbal tea industry. held in Xiamen, Fujian province, rate identities. temperature, clear away phlegm A worker takes forsythia leaves to baking machines at the herbal They’re also informing visitors from Sept 8­11, herbal tea products One of the alliance’s earliest and improve their immunity. tea factory in Shanxi. ZHANG DAN / FOR CHINA DAILY about the functions of various from Shanxi attracted the attention actions was launching the “Shanxi Yicheng is one of the counties in products and ways of steeping dif­ of many visitors. Herbal Tea”, a collective brand for Shanxi with a reputation for quality ferent herbal teas. After drinking a cup of forsythia local products with a geographical forsythia. People in the county have response to the provincial authori­ The locals also view the forsythia “Every city in Shanxi is displaying tea at one of the booths at the Shanxi indication, on the same day of its recently found that the value of for­ ties’ plan to boost the development plantations as a major attraction for its local products, offering visitors pavilion, local visitor Zhao Ruixue inauguration. sythia is not limited to making med­ of the herbal tea industry, which tourists, when the beautiful flowers an opportunity to taste as many teas said “this was the right taste,” com­ This brand is expected to make icines. includes the production of forsythia bloom between March and April. as possible,” said Feng Yaowu, head paring it to her childhood experi­ Shanxi Herbal Tea a recognized Yicheng Investment Group, a tea products. Nanliang, the earliest township in of the office of local produce in ence. name like Longjing Tea in Zhejiang local company, recently launched a “As Shanxi plans to develop the Yicheng to develop artificial planta­ Shanxi. A native of Pingding county of province, Pu’erh Tea in Yunnan and dozen forsythia tea products to meet herbal tea sector into an economic tions for forsythia, is also a pioneer Since the beginning of this year, Shanxi province, Zhao has lived in Wuyi Rock Tea in Fujian, according market demand for health food. pillar, I believe there is more growth in developing herb­based sightsee­ authorities in Shanxi province have Xiamen for decades. to Ju Zhen, chief of the Shanxi “During a trade show held in Tai­ potential for the industry in our ing tours, Wang said. been working to develop herbal tea “When I was a child, we used new­ Department of Agriculture and yuan on Aug 22, we debuted more county,” said Wang Yuan, Party sec­ Since 2017, the township has held into a local pillar industry. ly collected forsythia leaves to make Rural Affairs. than 10 varieties of forsythia tea into retary of the county. forsythia­themed tourism events Their confidence is based on the tea by ourselves. Forsythia tea helps He said the herbal tea sector will the market,” said Wang Hongxing, In past years, according to Wang, every year, attracting tens of thou­ rich local resources of medical herbs relieve inflammation and fevers,” become a new growth area in the executive director of the company. the county’s farmers mostly collect­ sands of visitors. and a long provincial history in pro­ Zhao said. “Although many of the province’s rural development, “We received a good number of ed forsythia from the wild and the “We are planning to develop a ducing herbal teas and other herb­ teas are ready­made products, they alongside agricultural products orders for the products for the growing area of forsythia was about theme park on forsythia in the related products. just taste the same as the old days,” with local geographical indications expected sales surge during the 3,000 hectares. county, highlighting activities According to a recent national Zhao said. such as millet, matured vinegar, fra­ National Day and Middle Autumn “As demand from local herbal tea including sightseeing, tea tasting survey, Shanxi is home to nearly On display at the Xiamen fair grant pear, walnut, sorghum, buck­ Festival holidays in October.” producers rises substantially, we and recreation,” Wang said. 1,800 varieties of medical herbs. were more than 200 herbal tea vari­ wheat and potato. According to county officials, the plan to develop more than 1,400 Herbs such as pilose asiabell, eties from 17 companies in Shanxi, local businesses’ move to diversify hectares of artificial plantations for Guo Yanjie contributed to astragalus, forsythia, chrysanthe­ including those made from mulber­ Guo Yanjie contributed to this story. the forsythia industry is also a forsythia,” Wang said. this story.

ness, drought and alkaline, wen­ guanguo has been used in many Fruits help to preserve local ecology, bring revenue to farmers regions in China to prevent deserti­ fication. By YUAN SHENGGAO tares of the wild herb has been add­ Medicines and teas made from ed to the mountains and hills in wenguanguo are good for reducing Late September is harvest season Fangshan, Wang said. blood pressure, blood fat and blood for sea buckthorn fruit in Fangshan The ecological environment has sugar. county in the west of Shanxi. steadily improved during the past Zhang Hua, a local businessman Zhao Gaiping, a resident in Hui­ two decades, evidenced by growing in Huozhou, was the first person in cun village, was busy collecting the vegetation coverage, clearer water the country to found a company yellow or orange­colored fruit that and the increase of wild animals. engaged in the planting of wen­ scattered on the slopes of Lyuliang “In the Hengquan Reservoir area, guanguo to make herbal tea. Mountains. birds like egrets and storks can be His company, Wenguanguo Tech­ “Selling the fruit to local wine or spotted all year round,” said Liu nology, includes a wenguanguo herbal tea producers is an impor­ Quanwang, a local farmer. farm of 40 hectares and a factory tant source of my family income,” In Huozhou city in the southwest with an annual capacity of 10 metric Zhao said. of Shanxi, officials and residents are tons of herbal tea. With rich content of various vita­ hoping the plant wenguanguo, or The company currently employs mins and amino acids, sea buck­ Aboriginal plants such as forsythia are used to preserve ecology in Shanxi, as they can protect soil from shiny­leaf yellowhorn, will improve dozens of people from local house­ thorn is a favorite ingredient for being washed away by rains. HU BO / FOR CHINA DAILY ecology and increase income. holds. producers. Herbal tea made from Huozhou used to be one of the top “We are planning to enlarge the the leaves help with digestion, low­ Due to a reduction in vegetation locals to tackle, said Wang Jinfeng, cial role in protecting soil from coal­producing regions in Shanxi. scale of the company with hopes of ering blood fat and blood pressure. coverage over the past few decades, Party secretary of the county. being washed away by rains,” Wang During the province’s shift from a greening more barren hills and However, in the eyes of local offi­ Fangshan is among the regions of “In our decades’ practice in said. coal­reliant to a diversified econo­ helping more farmers get rich,” cials, the sea buckthorn goes beyond weakest ecology in Shanxi. Water improving the environment, we The county began to plant sea my, the city is using wenguanguo to Zhang said. healthy food. It’s also used for the erosion has presented severe challen­ found that aboriginal plants like buckthorn at the beginning of this repair the ecology at its mining sites. protection of the environment. ges that have required generations of wild sea buckthorn can play a cru­ century, and more than 13,000 hec­ Due to its ability to resist cold­ Guo Yanjie contributed to this story.

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