Huaihua is the birthplace of hybrid rice and is known as a “paradise of species variation”. It is one of the three major hybrid rice seed production bases in China, with three national-level seed production counties: Xupu, Jingzhou, and Hongjiang. Currently, the city’s seed production area reaches 202,000 mu (approximately 13,800 hectares), producing over 40 million kilograms of high-quality hybrid rice seeds annually, accounting for 40% of the province’s seed production area and output, and one-tenth of the national total. Huaihua boasts abundant germplasm resources, with 3,716 plant species, including 32 nationally protected species, and 2,340 kinds of medicinal herbs, ranking second in the country. It is the largest seed production base for Poria cocos and the breeding base for rock sugar oranges in China, accounting for over 70% of the national output of these products. Its space breeding technology for waxberries and glutinous rice is at a leading level nationwide. The city boasts 16 medium-sized seed production and breeding platforms such as Yuelu Mountain Seed Industry Innovation Center and Xiangxi Regional Seed Industry Inovation Center. It has cumulatively approved 52 crop varieties at the national level and 97 at the provincial level, cultivated 15 national geographical indication products, and 9 national famous, high-quality, special, and new agricultural products. It has also created a number of regional specialty brands such as Qianyang Rock Sugar Orange, Jinhe Rock Sugar Orange, and Huaihua Polygonati rhizoma. In 2025, the city’s seed industry chain achieved a comprehensive output value of 10.55 billion yuan; it had 34 enterprises above the designated size, with a total output value of 3.092 billion yuan.
Key enterprises: Hunan OPULENT Technology Co., Huitong Tianxin Seed Industry Co., Huitong Muye Mountain Rabbit Industry Co., Hunan Cloud-Flying Phoenix Agricultural Industry Co., Hunan Boshikang TCM Co., Jingzhou Jiahe Hongyun Livestock Breeding Co., Jingzhou Hunan-Guizhou-Guangxi Edible and Medicinal Fungi Research Institute, and Huaihua Tianling Nature Conservation Co.
Development priorities: adhering to hybrid rice seed production as the mainstay; simultaneously developing diversified seed industries including fruits, medicinal herbs, livestock and poultry products, and forestry; vigorously cultivating regional specialty brands; and striving to build an “International Seed Industry Base”.
A 1,000-mu Hybrid Rice Cultivation and Seed Production Demonstration Base in Hongjiang City