Recently, the reporter learned from the TCM Industrial Chain Development Promotion Conference that in 2024, Huaihua’s TCM industrial chain achieved a comprehensive output value of RMB26.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.1%. The city newly developed planting area of 11,900 hectares for Chinese medicinal materials, completing 118.6% of the annual objective; the total planting area reached 100,700 hectares; and 34 new demonstration bases for the ecological planting of Chinese medicinal materials were built, all ranking first in Hunan Province.
Huaihua strove to introduce large-scale and competitive enterprises and extend, supplement and strengthen industrial chains. In 2024, the city signed 47 new projects, started 38 projects, and put 14 projects into operation, completing 188%, 316% and 350% of the annual objectives, respectively, with a total investment of RMB11.87 billion. CR Sanjiu, Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical Group, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, Shenogen Pharma Group, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, China State Farm, Guangdong Litai Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. and other enterprises settled or expanded investment in Huaihua. There were eight new TCM enterprises above the designated size, bringing the total number of such enterprises to 55. These enterprises achieved a total output value of RMB4.12 billion, a year-on-year increase of 20.3%.
The workstation of Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, Vice President of The World Academy of Sciences, was established in Huaihua. Zhengqing Group took the lead in establishing the Hunan Modern Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Process Technology Innovation Center under the approval of the Department of Science and Technology of Hunan Province, becoming the only TCM innovation center in the province. Hunan University of Medicine General Hospital was approved as the “Pilot Base for the Application of Advances in Geo-authentic Chinese Medicine Preparations in Western Hunan Province”, becoming the only pilot base for Chinese medicine preparations in western Hunan. “Shufu antibacterial spray” developed by People’s Hospital of Chenxi County was the first Chinese medicine preparation of Huaihua that was granted the disinfection product number. With the publication of the ISO international standard for Poria cocos, the second ISO international standard for Chinese medicinal materials of Hunan Province, Huaihua became the only prefecture-level city in Hunan Province that has the ISO international standard for Chinese medicinal materials.
The origin of the Huaihua Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim. was authenticated by the authority. Nine samples donated by Huaihua were officially collected by the National Plant Specimen Resource Center as Polygonatum kingianum Collett & Hemsl. Hometown of Shennong · Huaihua, Hometown of Medicine, a book that introduces Huaihua’s TCM industry, was published in Beijing. Xupu and Jingzhou are reputed as “hometown of Lonicerae flos” and “hometown of Poria cocos”, respectively. The Poria cocos deep-processing products of Busky Pharmaceutical won the gold medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in the United States. Jingzhou trades over 70% of China’s Poria cocos, Xinhuang trades over one-sixth of the country’s sealwort, and Tongdao trades over one-third of China’s uncaria. As Huaihua medicine gains popularity, the “TCM valley in southern China” begins to take shape.
In 2025, Huaihua will redouble efforts to extend, supplement and strengthen the TCM industrial chain, so as to foster a batch of single-variety industrial chains with a scale of over RMB5 billion or RMB10 billion. The city will select 10 key varieties with the potential of forming industrial chains with a scale of over RMB5 billion to form the new “top 10 Huaihua medications”. It will newly develop planting area of 6,667 hectares for Chinese medicinal materials, foster over eight leading TCM agricultural industrialization enterprises at or above the municipal level and over five enterprises above the designated size, and increase the comprehensive output value of the whole industrial chain to over RMB32 billion and achieve a year-on-year increase of over 15%. It will support local leading enterprises in capacity expansion and upgrading and strive to introduce more than 45 enterprises in the whole industrial chain. It will standardize planting to improve quality, establish over 100 bases for the ecological planting of Chinese medicinal materials, and strive to build more than five GAP demonstration planting bases. It will develop the preliminary processing and distribution market cluster for single varieties of advantageous Chinese medicinal materials, move faster to advance the development of the Chinese medicinal material trading platform of Huaihua International Land Port, strive to achieve imports and exports of over RMB300 million, and expedite the overseas development of Huaihua medicine. It will work with universities and research institutes to advance the transformation of preparations and development of key technologies, aiming to transform over three Chinese medicine preparations. It will also develop a number of provincial TCM cultural tourism and wellness tourism routes, advance the formulation and publication of the ISO international standards for sealwort and Lonicerae flos, organize international industry conferences, and continuously improve the recognition and influence of Huaihua medicine.
(Translated by Professor Yu Jie)