24Jilin Friday, October 14, 2016 special

CHINA DAILY

Northeast China’s Jilin province is recognized as a premium region for grain plantation. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Judges inspect ginseng at a competition during this year’s Wild Ginseng Festival in Qinghe, Ji’an of Jilin province. PHOTOS BY DING LUYANG / FOR CHINA DAILY Ginseng a cash crop for local suppliers

By LIU MINGTAI Ji’an is dubbed the “home- [email protected] town of ginseng”, with writ- ten records of ginseng dig- A 100-year-old wild gin- ging dating back more than Growing in the fi eld, seng fetched 1.68 million 1,700 years. The artifi cial cul- yuan ($250,000) at an auc- tivation of ginseng in the city tion during the Ji’an Qinghe started nearly 500 years ago. Wild Ginseng Festival in At present, the city’s ginseng Northeast China’s Jilin prov- plantation area totals 1,000 ince on Sept 11. hectares, accounting for more cultivating the market “I started growing ginseng than 10 percent of the country’s more than 30 years ago,” said total. More than 12,000 people Wang Guiqiu, owner of the are employed in the sector, Northeastern province consolidates businesses, hones its skills to become recognized precious plant from Qinghe and their annual income has township, Ji’an of Jilin. “My increased by 30,000 yuan on as premier producer of the staple food, Dong Jidong and Liu Mingtai report. fellow villagers saw I had average, according to the city good profi ts and followed me government. in planting and processing Last year, the output of the ortheast China’s Jilin than 900 rice brands in Jilin, ginseng.” ginseng plantation business province, one of the and most of its rice process- The industry has played reached 1.3 billion yuan and major grain-produc- ing enterprises were small a signifi cant role in increas- that of ginseng processing Ning regions in the and scattered throughout the ing local farmers’ income, totaled 3.7 billion yuan. country, has taken steps to province. according to Gai Yunbo, dep- The city currently has 123 promote its rice brands over In 2014, the province Jilin’s rice uty mayor of Ji’an city. ginseng-processing enter- recent years. started to cultivate brands of The revenue generated prises, the combined capac- The rice plantation area in geographical indication and industry features from the industry accounts ity of which reached 15,000 the province totals 800,000 restructured its rice process- for 60 percent of the farm- metric tons, ranking fi rst in hectares, and the annual out- ing industry. three advantages ers’ per-capita net income the country, according to the put of rice stands at 6 million To date, seven rice brands in Ji’an, Gai said. In Qinghe, Ji’an government. The city metric tons, according to the in Jilin, including Meihe and — high-quality a major ginseng-producing has developed more than 440 province’s grain department. Wanchang, have been named region of Ji’an, the revenue ginseng products in medicine, “Jilin’s rice industry features National Protected Geographi- rice varieties, an accounts for 80 percent of the healthcare and cosmetics. three advantages — high-qual- cal Indication Products. Nine farmers’ net income, he said. Ji’an is also the world’s only ity rice varieties, an ideal geo- others, including Jiangjiadi- ideal geographical “With rapid social develop- region that produces Bian- graphical location and strong an, Huinan and Xijiang, have ment and people’s increasing tiao ginseng, a variety with capabilities in production and gained geographical indication location and attention on healthcare, the a unique planting technique, processing,” said Yang Guang, status. The province has also Chaganhu brand products of Songyuan’s SYFCO Corp. Jilin plans potential for the industry’s well-known for its quality, deputy chief of the Jilin grain established an industrial alli- strong capabilities to improve brand recognition and make Jilin Rice a household name growth is huge,” Gai said. elegant shape and root hair. department, at an agricultural ance for rice producers, which around the country. PHOTOS BY DING LUYANG / FOR CHINA DAILY Yang Wenhui, acting may- The processing technique for summit held on the sidelines is comprised of 33 enterprises, in production and or and deputy Party chief the ginseng was added to the of the Changchun Agriculture including 26 rice-producing of Ji’an, said: “The festival list of national intangible cul- and Food Expo in August. enterprises, three distributors processing.” has laid the foundation for tural heritage in November The province is located at and one e-commerce platform. Building and promoting an empire Ji’an to hold international 2014. 40-46 degrees north latitude, In July last year, when Xi Yang Guang, deputy chief of ginseng-culture festivals in After more than 30 years’ widely recognized as the pre- visited Jilin, he checked the the Jilin grain department the future. We hope to attract development, the ginseng mium region for grain plan- crops’ growth in the paddy Last year, Jilin province more visitors and help them market in Ji’an has developed tation, Yang said. The fertile fi elds and urged the province worked out a fi ve-year to learn about the city.” into one of the largest mar- black soil and irrigation of the to make its rice brands better- plan to build up its rice The festival effectively kets for forest-grown ginseng rivers of Songhua and Liaohe known so that farmers could brands, which created the improved public awareness in the country. also contribute to the rice’s increase their income. As a 800k goals of cultivating the of ginseng brands and pro- Last year, the market’s high quality, he said. result, the provincial grain hectares overarching brand of Jilin moted ginseng knowledge, turnover reached 2.2 billion In March last year, President department set a goal of mak- Rice and building a provincial said Zhong Weitong, leading yuan, of which mountain- Xi Jinping praised Jilin rice ing the Jilin rice a name card Jilin’s total rice plantation area industrial alliance. The plan researcher at the National grown ginseng accounts for as the top brand, speaking of the province and acceler- will also set up an internet Ginseng Products Quality more than 90 percent of the highly of its taste and quality ated e7 orts to build up its rice portal, www.jldmw.com, Supervision and Inspection total transaction volume. during the annual sessions of brands. establish a comprehensive Center. The government has set the National People’s Congress Jilin has stepped up promo- 6m quality standard system and Nonetheless, the develop- up a bureau to guide the sci- and the Chinese People’s Politi- tion of its rice products since sell the products through ment of the ginseng industry entific development of the cal Consultative Conference, 2014. The provincial govern- metric tons chain stores and counters Daohuaxiang, an organic rice is in urgent need of policy industry and provide conve- the top legislature and politi- ment branded all of its rice at shopping malls and product from Jilin. support, Zhong said. nient administrative services. cal advisory bodies. products under one overarch- Jilin’s annual output of rice supermarkets. However, the province’s rice ing name, Jilin Rice, in order Twenty-seven rice- rice industry, according to industry used to su7 er from to expand its market share producing enterprises the provincial government. Contest shows herb as delicacy thorny issues of low prices and and launched promotional in the eastern, central The farmers’ income will also low processing capability. Jilin campaigns in major distribu- 9 and western areas of the be increased, according to lagged behind neighboring tion regions throughout the province have joined the the plan. A contest for cuisine provinces in building its own country. rice brands alliance. The alliance has A number of rice- made with ginseng grown in brands and merging its rice The province has also issued processing standards producing enterprises in Changbai Mountain was held processing enterprises, accord- worked out a quality standard gained geographical indication for four varieties of rice, Jilin have expanded their in Ji’an, Northeast China’s ing to industry insiders. for its rice products and estab- status in the province setting a higher bar than the operations to meet the Jilin province, on Sept 11 Heilongjiang, another prov- lished a quality-traceability national industrial standards. surging demand. and 12. ince in Northeast China, start- system to improve the cred- Jilin has adopted a range In Wanchang township, a The two-day event aimed ed to integrate its rice-related ibility of its enterprises. HEILONGJIANG of innovative online and major grain-producing base to improve public awareness resources and brands in 2001, o ine marketing channels to in central Jilin, the Yufeng about ginseng as a food while Jilin began doing that Contact the writers through expand its share in the rice Rice Co has integrated ingredient. JILIN Hawthorn jelly with ginseng. in 2014. dongjidong@chinadaily. market around the country. agritourism, greenhouse Twenty-three chefs There used to be more com.cn Changchun The province has established cultivation of vegetables from 23 restaurants in long-term sales cooperation and logistics with its main the province created 65 a valuable delicacy rich in Fusong agreements with a variety business of rice production dishes with ginseng on the nutrition and health benefi ts.

LIAONING of regions, including and processing. spot. Six dishes, including The ginseng industry Beijing, Shanghai and the In the city of Songyuan, sugar-coated ginseng, in Jilin has experienced provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, SYFCO Corp has developed won gold awards at the leapfrog progress since Guangdong and Yunnan. a total of 360 varieties of event. Seventeen ginseng- the provincial government This year, Jilin plans to products under its brand producing enterprises launched a campaign to step up promotion of its Chaganhu. With its own displayed their products, revitalize the industry’s 200 km rice products to make Jilin grain production base, the such as ginseng drinks, development in 2010. The CHINA DAILY Rice a well-known brand company has established a cosmetics and candies. government has worked around the country in three quality-traceability system Liu Fengyan, deputy out a range of measures in to fi ve years. The move is that can ensure food safety director of the Jilin provincial systematic management, expected to improve brand from the paddy fi elds to Commission of Rural A airs, fi nancial support, and recognition among mid- and the retail stores, said Miao said the purpose of the food product research and high-end consumers and Fengxiang, deputy general contest was to help people development to boost the help with upgrading and manager of the company. to see ginseng as more than industry. Jilin is known for its ideal geographical location for producing high- restructuring the province’s CHINA DAILY just herbal medicine, but also CHINA DAILY quality rice varieties. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY