Longxi County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, enjoys the reputation of Hometown of Astragalus in China and is hailed as China Medicine Capital. It is the canonical Daodi producing area of Mongolian Astragalus recorded in ancient Chinese herbal literatures. The GAP Chinese Medicinal Herb Base is built within the official geographical indication protected zone of Longxi Astragalus, implementing standardized production specifications for Chinese crude drugs Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), integrating germplasm breeding, ecological cultivation, field monitoring, harvesting & processing, quality testing and full-chain traceability.
Longxi Astragalus boasts complete intellectual property and certification advantages. It obtained origin registration certification in 2003 and acquired Agricultural Geographical Indication qualification in 2016. In 2017, the “Longxi Astragalus” Geographical Indication Certification Mark was recognized as a Well-known Trademark of China by the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The multi-level certification system provides solid institutional foundation for the construction and standardized operation of the GAP base, effectively distinguishing authentic Daodi Longxi Astragalus from non-origin products.
Benefiting from superior alpine terroir, the GAP base sits at an altitude of 1600–2700 meters. The temperate continental monsoon climate brings abundant sunshine and large diurnal temperature differences. Deep, loose loess and black loam soil are rich in organic matter and mineral elements, perfectly matching the deep-root growth habit of Astragalus. With limited industrial pollution and clean mountain water sources, the ecological environment satisfies strict GAP requirements for pollution-free medicinal material production. Herbal records dating back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties noted that premium Astragalus originated in Longxi. Qualified Longxi Astragalus features the distinctive characteristic of “golden rim, silver core and chrysanthemum-shaped cross-section”, with astragaloside IV and calycosin glucoside contents steadily exceeding standards specified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.
The base strictly executes unified GAP standardized management norms to stabilize batch-to-batch quality of Longxi Astragalus:
- Unified improved germplasm: Adopt locally purified superior Astragalus varieties, screen qualified seedlings, prohibit mixed inferior seedlings and maintain inherent genetic traits of Daodi Huangqi.
- Unified scientific rotation scheme: Implement crop rotation between Astragalus and grain & legume crops to mitigate continuous cropping obstacles, reduce soil-borne diseases and cut down agrochemical application.
- Unified green field management: Prioritize organic fertilizers, adopt physical and biological pest control, strictly restrict banned pesticides to control pesticide residue risks.
- Unified growth cycle management: Follow natural growth cycle rules to guarantee sufficient accumulation of active medicinal ingredients.
- Unified low-sulfur processing standard: Apply traditional kneading techniques matched with mild low-temperature drying to control sulfur residues below international limits.
- Unified whole-process traceability: Each batch of Astragalus carries exclusive QR traceability data covering seedling sources, field operation logs, environmental monitoring records and official inspection reports.
Supported by CMA and CNAS accredited testing laboratories, the base conducts comprehensive detection of active components, heavy metals, pesticide residues and sulfur dioxide, enabling products to meet domestic pharmacopoeia and international export standards. Operating under the framework of “Leading Enterprise + GAP Base + Cooperatives + Growers”, the base unifies technical guidance and standardized purchasing, driving local farmers to engage in standardized Daodi medicinal herb cultivation.
The GAP Chinese Medicinal Herb Base works in coordination with the Authorized Geographical Indication Herb Base and Daodi Chinese Herb Planting Base in Longxi. Relying on the Well-known Trademark and geographical indication protection system, GAP-grade Longxi Astragalus raw materials are delivered to pharmaceutical manufacturers, herbal decoction factories and health brands, and exported to Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and other overseas markets.
As a demonstration carrier of modernized Daodi medicinal herb industry, the GAP base combines millennia-long herbal planting heritage with contemporary standardized agricultural management. It continuously provides safe, high-efficiency, origin-verified authentic Longxi Astragalus, setting a benchmark for GAP cultivation of root medicinal herbs on the Loess Plateau.
This is fascinating! I’ve always trusted herbs from Gansu, but it’s great to see the official GAP standards backing up the quality. Longxi really lives up to its name as the Ast