Daodi Astragalus Producing Area – Longxi, Gansu

Longxi County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, universally recognized as the authentic Daodi Astragalus Producing Area, bears the time-honored reputation of “China Hometown of Astragalus” and “Millennium Herbal Town” in Northwest China. Recorded in the authoritative ancient herbal work Treatise on the Properties of Materia Medica Collection written by Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty, the classic line “The finest Astragalus comes from Longxi, pale yellow-white in color and sweet in taste, rarely seen in those days” has cemented Longxi’s irreplaceable status as the top-grade Daodi producing zone of Astragalus for over 1,500 years.

As the core origin of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus (Mongolian Astragalus), Longxi integrates unique plateau terroir, thousand-year planting heritage, national intellectual property protection and modern standardized cultivation systems, forming a complete industrial chain of Daodi Huangqi covering seedling breeding, ecological planting, standardized processing and cross-border export. It is designated as the national demonstration zone for Chinese medicinal herb brands and shortlisted for China’s Important Agricultural Heritage System candidate list, the only Astragalus cultivation heritage across the country.

Unique Alpine Loess Terroir For Daodi Astragalus

The exclusive geographical, climatic and soil conditions of Longxi lay the innate foundation for premium Daodi Huangqi, fully matching the growth habits of deep-root Astragalus:

1. Geographical Location Located at the upper reaches of Wei River on the southwest Loess Plateau, elevation ranges from 1,612 m to 2,778 m, with alternating loess ridges, hills and river valleys, creating three-dimensional planting zones suitable for long-root Astragalus growth.
2. Temperate Continental Monsoon Climate Four distinct seasons, sufficient sunshine and dramatic day-night temperature differences slow down the growth speed of Astragalus, allowing full accumulation of astragaloside IV, calycosin glucoside and other core active ingredients. The cool, semi-arid environment avoids excessive heat that causes hollow, low-quality roots in southern producing areas.
3. Premium Loess Soil Dominant dark loam and yellow loam with thick, loose, well-drained texture, rich in organic matter and natural trace minerals. Free of heavy metal and industrial pollution, the soil restrains overgrowth of above-ground stems and channels nutrients to underground roots, developing solid, high-starch Huangqi roots with the iconic “golden rim, silver core, chrysanthemum cross-section” feature.

All Daodi Astragalus grown in this producing area features straight, less-branched roots, firm cotton-like texture, abundant powder and pure sweet herbal flavor, widely hailed as “the elite of Astragalus” by TCM raw material manufacturers nationwide. Top 50 Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises including Yangtze River, Huiren and Guangzhongyi all prioritize Longxi Daodi Huangqi as their exclusive raw material supply source.

Complete National Certification System for Daodi Origin Protection

As an officially defined Daodi Astragalus Producing Area, Longxi holds a full set of authoritative national credentials to protect origin authenticity:

1. 2001: Certified “China Hometown of Astragalus” by the Special Local Products Committee of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Specialties.
2. 2016: Approved National Geographical Indication Product by State Administration for Market Regulation, with the whole county administrative region demarcated as protected origin territory.
3. 2017: The “Longxi Astragalus” GI Certification Mark was recognized as a Well-known Trademark of China by the former SAIC; Longxi was named National Demonstration Zone for Chinese Medicinal Herb Industrial Brands.
4. 2021: Included in the National List of Famous, Special, High-Quality New Agricultural Products.
5. National standardized GAP planting bases, Authorized GI Herb Bases and Daodi planting demonstration zones are distributed across all 18 townships within the Daodi protected range, executing unified six-standard management for whole-cycle planting.

Standardized Daodi Cultivation Norms Inherited & Modernized

Longxi combines ancient local planting experience with contemporary GAP standardized rules to safeguard the Daodi quality of Huangqi:

1. Exclusive Improved Germplasm Promote purified local variety Longqi No.1, adopt professional seed scarification technology to boost germination rate, ban foreign hybrid seedlings to avoid germplasm degradation.
2. Scientific Rotation Regime Rotate Astragalus with wheat and leguminous crops to alleviate continuous cropping obstacles, reduce soil-borne diseases and cut chemical fertilizer & pesticide input, adhering to ecological Daodi planting logic.
3. Full Growth Cycle Regulation Strictly implement two-year seedling raising plus one-year field transplanting, prohibiting premature digging to guarantee full deposition of medicinal active substances.
4. Traditional Low-sulfur Processing Retain ancient repeated rubbing & low-temperature air-drying craft after harvest, tightening root skin and locking natural powder, with sulfur residues far below domestic and international export limits.
5. Full QR Traceability Every batch of Daodi Longxi Astragalus carries exclusive trace codes recording seedling source, field management, harvest time and test reports, enabling full origin verification for global buyers.

Industrial Scale & Global Influence of Daodi Astragalus Producing Area

At present, Longxi’s standardized Daodi Astragalus planting area exceeds 80,000 mu, with annual output reaching 27,000 tons and total industrial output value hitting 3.3 billion RMB. Supported by two core professional medicinal markets (Wenfeng & Shouyang), over 480 processing households and nearly 1,000 wholesale traders form a complete local circulation network. Processed products include whole Astragalus roots, oblique slices, round slices, herbal extracts, Astragalus tea and medicinal cuisine raw materials, exported to Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and other regions.

Relying on its Daodi origin identity and multi-layer national certifications, Longxi Astragalus has become the world’s largest supply base of authentic Astragalus raw materials, setting a replicable development model for Daodi medicinal herb zones on the Loess Plateau.

Conclusion

Supported by thousand-year herbal textual records, irreplaceable loess plateau terroir and integrated national GI & GAP standardized management, Longxi stands as the world-famous Daodi Astragalus Producing Area. It inherits the ancient T geo-herbalism philosophy while adopting modern ecological planting techniques, continuously supplying high-potency, traceable authentic Longxi Huangqi for global TCM, dietary supplement and wellness industries.