Top Ten Specialties of Chifeng

Balin chicken blood stone refers to Balin stone containing red cinnabar. Its texture is mostly transparent or translucent, with blood hues ranging from bright red, vermilion, dark red to orange red. The red markings appear in flaky, massive, banded and dotted shapes. All varieties are named after different shades of red, such as Sunset Red, Rosy Cloud Red, Peony Red and Golden Tangerine Red.

As a product with geographical indication, Chifeng Yellow Corn registers an annual output of 2.2 million tons, including 1.8 million tons of commercial grain.

Administrative jurisdiction: All administrative areas under Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Document basis: Report of the People’s Government of Aohan Banner on Defining the Protected Scope of Aohan Millet Geographical Indication Products, Document No. Aozhengfa〔2012〕17 Agricultural standard of Aohan Banner: AN/T0001-2010 Technical Operation Code for the Production of Aohan Millet

Archaeologists have identified six primitive cultural types within Chifeng: Xinglongwa Culture, Zhaobaogou Culture, Hongshan Culture, Fuhe Culture, Xiaoheyan Culture and Lower Xiajiadian Culture. Archaeological relics including stone tools, bone implements, pottery and bronze wares prove that primitive ancestors settled here over 8,000 years ago, engaging in primitive farming, fishing, hunting and animal husbandry. Chifeng boasts a long history of millet cultivation. Carbonized foxtail and broomcorn millet grains dating back 8,000 years were unearthed at the Xinglonggou Site in 2003. Appraised via carbon-14 dating by research institutions from Canada, the UK and China, these grains represent the earliest artificially cultivated cereals ever discovered. This confirms that the Aohan area of Chifeng is the cradle of dryland farming in ancient China and the origin of Eurasian dryland agriculture. Local records and the History of the Liao Dynasty document: “In the seventh year of the Baoning reign (976), the Han territory was occupied by Song troops, who sent envoys to beg for grain. An imperial edict granted 200,000 hu of millet to aid them.”

Archaeologists have identified six primitive cultural types within Chifeng: Xinglongwa Culture, Zhaobaogou Culture, Hongshan Culture, Fuhe Culture, Xiaoheyan Culture and Lower Xiajiadian Culture. Archaeological relics including stone tools, bone implements, pottery and bronze wares prove that primitive ancestors settled here over 8,000 years ago, engaging in primitive farming, fishing, hunting and animal husbandry. In the 1950s, Chifeng introduced japonica mung bean varieties from Northeast China. By the 1990s, Chifeng Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences selected two fine strains—Chilu No.1 and Big Parrot Mung Bean—from local landraces, which were widely popularized for large-scale cultivation. Large-scale mung bean planting in Chifeng began in the 1970s. In 1980, the city’s sown area reached 48,000 mu with a total yield of 979,000 jin. In 2014, the sown area expanded to 43,717 hectares, yielding 32,200 tons. Historical statistics show steady year-on-year growth in planting area, per-unit yield and total output.

Origin Region: Inner Mongolia Applicant: Agricultural Technology Extension Station of Balin Right Banner Designated Protected Scope (defined in 2016): 2 towns/sums and 12 villages/gachas under Balin Right Banner: Daban Town, Xilamulun Sum, Youlian Village, Hongxing Village, Ulan Gerile Gacha, You’ai Village, Xinli Village, Qianjin Village, Xilamulun Village, Dalintai Gacha, Yihenuur Gacha, Budunhua Gacha, Shabuga Gacha and Xire Gacha. Geographic coordinates: 118°11′–120°05′ E, 43°12′–44°28′ N

Leveraging its unique resource endowments, Balin Right Banner has rolled out a series of practical policies to accelerate the development of modern agriculture and animal husbandry. These measures boost agricultural and livestock output, raise herdsmen’s incomes and improve the overall efficiency of the pastoral economy, putting local farming and husbandry on a fast track of growth. By the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the per capita disposable income of permanent rural and pastoral residents across the banner hit 8,068 yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 11%.

Scientific name: Leuciscus waleckii (Dybowski). The Amur ide features outstanding traits including strong temperature tolerance, adaptability to saline-alkali water, omnivorous feeding habits, fast growth and delicate flesh. It enjoys a high reputation across Inner Mongolia, Northeast China, Beijing and Tianjin, with great potential for development and promotion.

Dalin Lake, the closest plateau inland lake to Beijing, lies deep within the Gongger Grassland. No agricultural pollution sources exist within a hundred-li radius. Its unique plateau climate and pristine, unpolluted natural environment create carbonate brackish water. Late December marks the annual fishing season at Dalin Lake. Fishing teams of the local nature reserve hold distinctive ethnic opening fishing ceremonies before harvesting Dalin Lake silver crucian carp with professional machinery and fishing nets. Ecotourism booms during this period, drawing crowds of tourists eager to taste the lake’s signature silver crucian carp. Why is Dalin Lake silver crucian carp so sought-after compared with ordinary crucian carp? Dalin Lake silver crucian carp is a unique local species naturally bred and grown in the lake basin. Its body glistens silvery white with a slow growth rate; all marketable fish are aged 5 to 10 years. Rich in protein, various amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids with moderate low fat content, the tender, delicious flesh earns it the local nickname “Tastier than soft-shelled turtle”.

Balin sheep boast strong stress resistance and adaptability, rapid growth and development, large body size with typical meat-type physique, high reproduction rate, decent wool yield and fine wool quality, alongside robust breeding performance. It is a dual-purpose meat-wool breed prioritized for mutton production, polled, with a sturdy, compact build, strong bones and plump muscles forming a cylindrical meat-type frame and early sexual maturity. The sheep have large heads and slender yet sturdy limbs. Their bodies are mostly white, while heads, necks and limbs are usually black or brown