1. Yuanling Jietan Tea
Yuanling is a National Key Tea-Producing County and one of the Top 10 National Ecological Tea-Producing Counties with a long history of tea cultivation. Jietan Tea produced here became a tribute tea as early as the Tang Dynasty and was exported to countries like Japan. It remained a royal tribute tea in subsequent dynasties, making it a famous historical tea in China and listed in The Catalogue of Chinese Famous Teas. In 1972, Jietan Tea was designated as the Tea for China-Japan Friendship. In 2011, it was awarded the title of National Geographical Indication Protected Product. Jietan Tea grows between mountains and is crafted with both traditional and modern techniques to achieve its natural excellence. As a thousand-year-old tribute tea, it is a representative of curly green tea in China. It features curly tea leaves, a clear yellow-green soup, a fresh, smooth, and mellow taste, and a sweet aftertaste. Its most prominent quality characteristics are elegant aroma, rich taste, and sweet aftertaste. Yuanling boasts profound tea culture. Records of its tea history date back over 1,800 years. Jietan Tea has won numerous awards in international, national, and provincial famous tea competitions.
2. Yuanling Daqu Liquor
With a long history, Yuanling Daqu Liquor is made from organic sorghum and brewed with meticulous craftsmanship. It offers a mellow and refreshing taste, with a lingering fragrance in the empty cup and a long aftertaste. Yuanling has a time-honored liquor culture and is well-known for producing fine liquors. The history of Yuanling liquor dates back over 1,380 years, originating in the Tang and Song Dynasties, thriving in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and gaining great fame in modern times. In 1951, private distilleries were merged into a cooperative. In 1956, Yuanling County Distillery was established and officially named its product “Yuanling Daqu”. The liquor won the “Provincial Quality Product” award for seven consecutive years and claimed the Gold Award for High-Quality New Products at the first China Food Expo in 1988, enjoying popularity across the country. The new Yuanling Daqu Distillery has a total investment of 450 million yuan, covering an area of 165 mu (about 110,000 square meters) with a construction area of 120,000 square meters. It is a modern factory with classical folk-style architecture, accompanied by a 40,000-mu organic sorghum production base. It strives to build an industrial chain integrating liquor culture, liquor ecology, and liquor tourism.
3. Daheping Black Pig
Daheping Black Pig belongs to the Xiangxi Black Pig series and is a high-quality local pig breed in China. It is produced in mountainous areas above 1,000 meters above sea level on both banks of the middle and lower reaches of the Yuanshui River in Hunan Province, and gets its name from its core producing area—Daheping Township in Yuanling County. The main feed of Daheping Black Pig includes sweet potatoes and their vines, corn and its leaves, and fresh grass, and it is suitable for free-range breeding in mountainous areas. Geographically, Daheping is a mountainous area rich in corn, sweet potatoes, autumn buckwheat, tree leaves, wild vegetables, and other wild resources, providing excellent conditions for pig breeding. Local people have taken advantage of these natural conditions to reclaim wasteland, grow coarse grains for feeding pigs, and through long-term biological selection and breeding, developed this black pig breed suitable for local conditions. Meanwhile, local people prefer black pork, which is an essential delicacy for weddings, funerals, and other important occasions. In 1956, Daheping Black Pig was listed as one of the 15 fine breeds in Hunan Province. Currently, it is a National Geographical Indication Protected Product.
4. Wuqiangxi Fish
The Wuqiangxi Reservoir in Yuanling has excellent water quality, a wide water area, and a variety of fish species. The fish here are rich in animal protein, multiple trace elements essential for the human body, and amino acids. In August 2015, Wuqiangxi Fish was awarded the title of National Geographical Indication Protected Product. Wuqiangxi Fish has a fresh and delicious taste, especially those from towns such as Xiaojiaqiao, Chenjiatan, and Wuqiangxi.
Wuqiangxi Fish is not only a signature dish for festivals in Yuanling but also a staple dish for entertaining guests. Every household has its own unique cooking skills. In Yuanling, whether in large or small restaurants, or ordinary families, fish dishes are always present on the table, such as braised fish, sweet and sour fish, stewed mandarin fish, steamed soft-shelled turtle, fried fish balls, stir-fried eels, fish head hot pot, and iron plate fish. It can be said that a banquet without fish would disappoint both hosts and guests, and a feast is incomplete without fish.
5. Longxing Crispy Candy
Yuanling Crispy Candy is a traditional food of Yuanling County. It is said to have been produced since the mid-Ming Dynasty, with a history of over 500 years. The most famous one is the Longxing Crispy Candy (known as Yuanling Crispy Candy before August 1982). Made mainly from locally produced sesame seeds, mixed with malt syrup, liuhua brown sugar, peanut oil, and flour, it is exquisitely processed. It features a fragrant, sweet, and crispy taste, is rich in nutrition, and has the functions of moistening the lungs and aiding digestion. Currently, the annual output of Longxing Crispy Candy is constantly increasing, and the product is sold well across the country, well-received by customers. Since 1982, Yuanling Crispy Candy has won the Hunan Provincial High-Quality Product Award three times in a row. In December 1988, Longxing Crispy Candy won the Silver Award at the first China Food Expo and was honored as a National Famous Product.
6. Yuanling Sun-dried Meat
Sun-dried meat is a unique traditional local delicacy in Yuanling County. It is made by cutting lean meat from the hind legs of local black pigs, marinating it with various natural spices, and then drying it in a bamboo basket or roasting it with smokeless charcoal. It is a favorite delicacy among people in Huaihua, Xiangxi, Zhangjiajie, Changde, and other regions in Hunan. Known as the top famous specialty in the Xiangxi area, it is the best gift for relatives and friends.
7. Yuanling Camellia Oil
Yuanling Camellia Oil is extracted from the seeds of camellia oleifera trees. It is one of the oldest woody edible vegetable oils in China. Authoritative tests show that the unsaturated fatty acid content in camellia oil exceeds 90%. In addition, it contains vitamin E, flavonoids, squalene, and other antioxidants, demonstrating its high nutritional value. Yuanling County has a history of over 2,000 years in camellia oleifera tree cultivation, with a long-standing camellia oil culture. In recent years, based on the characteristic resource of camellia oil, Yuanling has adhered to several strategies to continuously promote the industrialization of camellia oil. It combines traditional methods with modern technology to fully retain the nutritional components during production, ensuring no loss or waste. Camellia oil can not only be used as an edible oil but also as a medicinal product and the best gift for honoring elders.
8. Yuanling Chinese Chestnut
Yuanling is one of the key counties for Chinese chestnut production in Hunan Province. Benefiting from superior comprehensive conditions such as climate and soil, the Chinese chestnuts produced in Yuanling are rich in starch, protein, fat, and sugar, with high nutritional value. Especially varieties like Huili, Maolihong, and Daguo Youli, they enjoy a high reputation in the international market. Yuanling’s “Yuanyou No.1” Chinese chestnut is a high-quality product among chestnuts. It is a fine chestnut variety selected from superior plants in a 3,500-mu large-fruited oil chestnut forest and cultivated through grafting. At the 1978 Hunan Woody Grain and Oil Plants Scientific Research Cooperation Conference, it was highly praised by participating experts. Later, it was planted in several provinces in Southwest China.
9. Qimei Flavonoid Tea
Flavonoid tea is rich in flavonoids, choline, vitamin C, and other components, suitable for people of all ages. It caters to the public’s trend of pursuing health.
10. Yuanling Honey
Yuanling honey is produced by local small black bees. These bees prefer to live in stone caves or tree holes and only produce honey once or twice a year. With extremely high purity, it is brewed from various flowers, rich in nutrition, and has high enzyme activity. It contains a variety of bioactive components and trace elements that can be directly absorbed by the human body.
(Translated by Yang Hong)