The Anren Market Day originated in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. This folk activity, which is held to commemorate Emperor Yan, the founding ancestor of China, has been passed down for thousands of years in the local area. It has been included on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

 

The stalls selling fructus aurantii are the most popular at traditional Chinese medicine markets in Anren Shennong Square and Shennong Cultural Street. Fructus aurantii is one of the representative varieties of the “Xiangjiuwei” traditional Chinese medicinal materials in Hunan. It can regulate qi-flowing, promote circulation, and reduce bloating. 

 

Anren is known as the “Hometown of Chinese Fructus Aurantii”, with a planting area of 120,000 mu (8,000 hectares). 

 

Anren Citrus aurantiu has obtained the national geographical indication and genuine medicinal material certification, and it has been rated as the “Xiangganhong” regional public brand of traditional Chinese medicinal materials.

 

In recent years, Anren County has developed the under-forest and courtyard economy, with farmers encouraged to plant traditional Chinese medicinal materials such as fructus aurantii and radix angelicae on idle land. It has formed a development pattern of traditional Chinese medicinal materials centered on fructus aurantii. 

 

Anren has also established a fund for guiding the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry together with universities and institutions such as Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, and Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences to promote the development of the entire industry chain.

 

It has introduced well-known pharmaceutical companies such as China Resources Sanjiu, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, and Anhui Huayuan Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., to develop deep processing and cold chain logistics. 

 

At present, there are 35 traditional Chinese medicine deep processing enterprises in the county, including 4 provincial-level leading agricultural industrialization enterprises and 4 high-tech enterprises. Medicinal and edible products such as “Shennongfu”, “Kuizhongyuan”, and “Goushigan” developed by local enterprises are popular among consumers.

 

In 2024, Anren County achieved the output value of 3.5 billion yuan from the traditional Chinese medicine industry, which has become an important pillar of the county economy. This year, it plans to add more than 5 breeding bases for high-quality Chinese medicinal materials, build more than 10 standardized planting bases for Chinese medicinal materials, and add more than 6 Chinese medicine enterprises.

 

 

Chinese source: hunantoday