The China-EU Agreement on Geographical Indications officially entered into force on March 1, 2021. It is China's first bilateral comprehensive and high-level agreement on the protection of geographical indications (GIs), and an important and practical outcome in the development of China-EU economic and trade relations in recent years.
We will continue to introduce to you the first batch of 100 Chinese GIs and 100 European GIs under the Agreement, to better protect and market them to meet the needs of consumers on both sides for a better life.
GI Episode 17: Le’an Bamboo Shoots
Le’an County lying in the mountainous area of central Jiangxi Province has rich Moso Bamboo resources, and its bamboo shoots enjoy a long reputation as a local delicacy.
The bamboo shoot is the bud of bamboo, also known as the shoot, which tastes crispy and fragrant. It is a traditional Chinese delicacy. As indicated by quotations from the Book of Songs, Chinese people began to take bamboo shoots as food over 2,500 years ago. The Travelogue of Xu Xiake of the Ming Dynasty records people at Dengxianqiao Village enjoy stewed fungi and bamboo shoots, which spreads the reputation of Le’an bamboo shoots afar.
Le’an County is surrounded by mountains and rolling hills, with the mountain forest covering 77% of the area. The soil here is mainly red soil and yellow soil, which is acidic. Located in the subtropical monsoon humid climate area, Le’an enjoys a warm climate, plentiful sunshine, abundant rainfall and a long frost free period, which is very suitable for the growth of Moso Bamboo.
Le’an bamboo shoots are complete in form, pyramid-shaped, and mostly hollow, with a length ranging from six to 25cm. The bamboo shoot meat is milky white or golden yellow, tender, fragrant, refreshing, highly edible, and rich in protein, crude fiber, vitamins, amino acids, carbohydrates and minerals. Sun Simiao, the King of Medicine, mentioned in Essential Formulas for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold, “Bamboo shoots are sweet, cold, and non-toxic. Good at reducing thirst, contributing to free flow of body fluids, replenishing qi, the bamboo shoots can be taken on a long-term basis.”
Being green, organic and healthy is the core value of the Le’an bamboo shoot brand. On the basis of inheriting the traditional techniques, Le’an people have kept up the endeavor to adopt modern production and processing technology, and have put in place a production quality standard and a quality traceability system covering the whole process from seed selection, cultivation, processing and production to packaging, storage and preservation, transportation and sales. So far, they have developed more than 30 series of products such as the clear water bamboo shoots, bamboo shoots in vacuum packing and canned bamboo shoots, which sell well all over the country and go for export to more than 20 countries and regions of Europe, America and Southeast Asia, to share the gifts of Nature with the world.
