Top Ten Special Local Products of Xingtai

Nangong City in Hebei is a major agricultural region with a long history of jujube cultivation. Almost every rural household plants several jujube trees. According to forestry authorities, nearly 500,000 jujube trees are grown in home courtyards across the city, covering almost 10,000 mu, dominated by large purple jujubes.

Before 2007, "Nangong Large Purple Jujubes" remained only a traditional local farm product without formal branding. In the spring of 2007, Nangong brought the jujubes to Beijing to participate in the World Forestry Expo. Thanks to their thick flesh, small pits, superior quality and high nutritional value, they won high praise from international experts. The jujubes were awarded the Gold Prize at the 2007 China International Forestry Industry Expo, the First Prize for Recommended Fruits for the Beijing Olympics, and the China Famous Fruit Award.

Julu County, Hebei Province, hosts China’s largest wolfberry production base.

Wolfberry cultivation in Julu stretches back more than 30 years. Currently, the county grows wolfberries across 50,000 mu in 186 villages, with an annual dried fruit output of 5 million kilograms.

The plant gets its name: its thorns resemble those of the medlar shrub, and its branches are like willow twigs. Normally it grows 1.5 to 2 meters tall, with naturally open or umbrella-shaped crowns and alternate single leaves. Flowers usually grow in clusters. Ripe berries are mostly blood red, with a few orange or orange-yellow fruits that taste sweet. In 1978, national appraisal confirmed Julu wolfberries ranked second nationwide in quality. They were named "Blood Wolfberries", with the export code "01".

Every part of the wolfberry plant is valuable for both medicine and food. The root bark relieves fever, reduces inflammation and promotes urination. The leaves contain 18 kinds of amino acids, 0.926% selenium, 2.264% flavonoids and multiple trace elements. Selenium deficiency easily causes cancer, while flavonoids soothe nerves and soften blood vessels.

The fruit has the highest economic value: it contains 13–21% protein, 22–52% sugar, 8–14% fat, and 0.0912% betaine. Per 100 grams: 3.96 mg carotene, 0.23 mg thiamine, 0.33 mg vitamin B2, 3 mg vitamin C, 1.7 mg niacin, 1.7 mg ash, plus 1.39 mg copper, 3.51 mg zinc and 27.37 mg iron.

According to folk legends from unofficial history, at the end of the Western Han Dynasty when Wang Mang seized power, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu hid among peony blossoms at Mituo Temple in Beihao Village, Baixiang County, and escaped capture.

The Baixiang County Chronicle (1932, the 21st year of the Republic of China) records that after ascending the throne, Liu Xiu passed through Baixiang during an inspection tour of Hebei. Moved by the flowers, he composed a poem:

Hence the name Han Dynasty Peonies came into being.

These peonies can only survive in this original pond; they will wither if transplanted elsewhere. After 1937, during Japan’s invasion of China, Japanese military leaders stationed in the county twice dug up the whole plants with soil and shipped them to Japan for cultivation. Despite careful watering and fertilizing, the Han peonies withered and died as an act of resistance. For years afterwards, the branches remained dry and produced no new shoots. It was not until the founding of New China in 1949 that the peonies sprouted again and bloomed once more. People praise them for embodying national integrity, calling them patriotic divine flowers. Later transplant attempts all ended in failure.

Honeysuckle, also known as double blossom or erbao flower, is a perennial semi-evergreen climbing shrub of the Caprifoliaceae family. It bears opposite ovate leaves covered with fine hairs. Labiate flowers grow in leaf axils, turning from white to pale yellow, hence the name "gold-and-silver flower".

Honeysuckle clears heat and detoxifies the body. Its main applications are fourfold:

The climate and soil in Julu, Hebei, are ideal for high-quality honeysuckle, which has been cultivated here for more than 30 years. After decades of breeding, purification and rejuvenation by agricultural technicians, Julu honeysuckle has formed its own unique strain named "Juhua No.1".

Key features: large leaves covered with long dense fine hairs, deep green foliage, few spindling shoots, upright plants, sturdy flowering branches, compact buds, early and prolonged budding periods, high dried flower yield, strong disease resistance, and high medicinal content (chlorogenic acid reaches 4.27%, exceeding the national standard of 3.87%).

Honeysuckle is densely planted across Julu, covering 10,000 mu. The dried flower yield exceeds 200 kilograms per mu, and can reach 300 kilograms on high-yield plots.

Thanks to the unique soil and climate along the Fuyang River, Pingxiang’s "Tribute Cabbage" was selected as an imperial tribute in the Qing Dynasty for its milky white juice, sweet taste and tender texture that cooks easily.

Average output hits 10,000 kilograms per mu, 2,000–3,000 kilograms higher than ordinary cabbage. Its market price is double that of regular varieties. Sold in major supermarket chains including Hualian (Beijing) and North China Mall (Shijiazhuang), it has been registered as an Agricultural Geographical Indication product by the Ministry of Agriculture.

This cabbage only grows along the Fuyang River in Pingxiang County. The high organic matter content, suitable temperature, altitude and sunlight produce cabbage with milky juice, sweet flavour and soft flesh. The Qing Dynasty book Illustrated Catalogue of Plants praised it as "the finest vegetable under heaven", confirming its status as a royal tribute.

Local folks have a saying: "Who lives by the Fuyang River will never go hungry. Eat tribute cabbage, and illness and misfortune stay far away."