Tujia Herb Peak in Longshan County gains popularity

Daling Mountain, the highest peak in Xiangxi, was recently named “Tujia Herb Peak” by Zhu Guoben, the former deputy director general of National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the former chairman of China Medical Association of Minorities. The event evoked strong repercussions in the industry. Longshan will further market the brand so as to drive the high-quality development of Longshan’s herb industry. Longshan County has a long history to develop traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. Among Qin Slips excavated at Liye, more than 70 pieces of which involved traditional Chinese medicine, 21 pieces mentioned prescriptions. Liye Qin Slips are the earliest bamboo slips recording traditional Chinese medicine with the greatest number found in archaeological excavations. 

Over several thousand years of inheritance, Longshan County has abundant traditional Chinese medicinal herb resources. According to the fourth national census of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs in 2012, there are 1,441 varieties of herbs in Longshan County, which ranked first in Hunan Province, including common herbs with large consumption such as bulbus lilii, “The Three Wood Medicine Materials”, radix scrophulariae, coptis chinensis and rhizoma atractylodis macrocephalae, special herbs such as pinellia ternata, polygonum cuspidatum and galla chinensis, as well as scarce but widely used wild herbs like rhizoma paridis and rhizoma bletillae. The common herbs, including but not limited to golden cypress, eucommia ulmoides and mangnolia officinalis, have a regular plantation area of 150,000 mu (10,000 hectares), with an annual output of 150,000 tons valued at2.7 billion yuan. 

Longshan County has been awarded the titles of “The Demonstration County of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herb Planting Base” and “The Pioneer County to Revive Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herb Industry” of Hunan Province successively. It is worth to mention that Longshan County is also renowned as “The Hometown of Bulbus Liliiin China”, and has the largest production area of lilium lancifolium, a type of medicinal herb which can also be used as food in China. Its planting bases, marketplaces as well the volume of production and sales all rank first in the country. With abundant traditional Chinese medicinal herb resources, Longshan County has developed a profound culture of ethnical medicines. Now, there are 37 licensed ethnical doctors and three ethnical hospitals, including Longshan Water and Electricity Orthopedics Hospital (the place to pass on the Tujia medical skill of setting broken bones), Xiangxi Luodashu Kidney Recovery Ethnical Hospital and Longshan Huilong Ethnical Hospital. 

In addition, four Tujia prescriptions for bone injury developed by Tian Baigui have been granted a registered certificate in China and included in pharmaceutical benefits scheme of Hunan Province. Tian Baigui is vice chairman of Tujia Medical Branch under China Medical Association of Minorities and the representative inheritor of the Tujia medical skill of setting broken bones.

In Longshan County, the most abundant resources of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs are spread in Da’an Township. It is also the place where the “Tujia Herb Peak” named by Zhu Guoben, that is Daling Mountain, is located.  As the main peak of Daling Mountain, Wanbao Mountain has the highest attitude of 1,737m and is recognized as “The highest Place in Xiangxi”. The Lishui River is one of the four river systems in Hunan Province, which begins in Huang Lianping, Da’an Township. The forest of Wanbao Mountain covers an area of 65,800 mu (about 4,386.67 hectares), with the forest coverage rate reaching 93%. In the mountain, the average content of negative oxide ions in the air is up to 300,000 per cubic centimeter which makes it a natural oxygen bar. 

In Daling Mountain, there are more than 20,000 mu (about 1,333.33 hectares) of common medicinal herbs such as “The Three Wood Medicine Materials” (golden cypress, eucommia ulmoides and mangnolia officinalis), radix scrophulariae and bulb of fritillary, and over 40,000 mu (about 2,666.67 hectares) of natural, ecological indocalamus forest. Some high-end medicinal herbs are also grown here in large amounts, such as gastrodia elata, rhizoma paridis and arrowshaped tinospora root. 

Da’an Township is located in the Daling Mountain, named by the former Premier Zhou Enlai as “The Hometown of Lacquer Trees”. It is also known as “The Hometown of Chinese Medicinal Herbs”. For thousands of years, local people have earned a living from herbs and preserved their health with herbs.

To coordinate the development of “Tujia Herb Peak”, Da’an Township developed a boutique rural tourist route which connects Mu Yuping Village, Fanshen Village and Wanbao Village. The road to Wanbao Mountain has been widened and paved with asphalt concrete. All these efforts will boost the cultural tourism industry in Longshan.