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Introduction to GIs under the China-EU Agreement on Geographical Indications (26) : Baise Mango
2022-05-30 09:00

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 26: Baise Mango

Speaking of Baise City in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the history of Baise Uprising is the red memory to the Chinese people. Baise today boasts the booming mango industry, adding a green landscape to the city. The Baise mango looks beautiful, with rich aroma, yellow to orange flesh, small core and thick flesh. With less fiber, it tastes tender, smooth, sweet and fragrant. Baise mango is the premium fruit of its kind. Baise is the largest mango planting base in China, with one in every 10 local people engaging in the mango planting industry.

Baise City is located in the west of Guangxi and sits on the upper reaches of the Youjiang River. It borders Yunnan in the west, Guizhou in the north; Nanning, the capital of the autonomous region, in the east; and Vietnam in the south. Crisscrossing rivers make the place rich in water resources. Dominated by plains, hills and low mountains, it has a high forest coverage of 75%, fresh air and good water quality. The soil fertility is medium and the texture is mainly loamy, loose and deep, breathable and water-retentive, providing enough nutrients and water for mango growth. It is a subtropical monsoon climate with long summer and short winter, mild climate, sufficient sunshine and abundant rainfall, which is suitable for the growth of Baise mangoes with sweet and refreshing taste.

As one of the origins of mango, Baise has a mango planting history of more than 300 years. According to the Complete Library of the Four Branches of Books compiled by the Pavilion of the Imperial Library in the Qing Dynasty, “Mango trees grow in Tianzhou and Tuzhou (today’s Tiandong County and Tianyang County in Baise City); the leaves do not wither in autumn and winter; in February tender branches grow out and then clusters of light yellow flowers bloom; the fruits become ripe in May, as large as peaches; pleasing to the taste, the fruits are sweet and fragrant”. Home to a large number of mango trees over a hundred years old, Baise City has witnessed a long history of planting. These old trees each yield more than 3000kg of mangoes every year, so they are called by locals “the mango ancestor” or “the mango king”.

Mango fruit has high nutritional value, with vitamin A content as high as 3.8% and vitamin C content exceeding that of oranges and strawberries. Mango contains sugar, protein and calcium, phosphorus, iron and other nutrients that are necessary for the human body. In addition, mango has high medicinal value, which is increasingly recognized by people.

For many years, governments at all levels in Guangxi and Baise City have vigorously encouraged and supported the development of mango industry. Since 1985, mango planting has become a pillar industry for Baise to revitalize the economy and help lift people from the old areas out of poverty. By developing, introducing and improving varieties, there are now more than 30 varieties of mango, such as Tainong 1, Guifei, and Guiqi. They are of high quality and good taste and are sold across the country. Moreover, such processed specialties as mango drinks, mango wine, dried mango, preserved mango and mango jam have been launched. This has further increased the added value of mango and increased the income of mango planters.

To display local people’s mango harvest and special local culture and promote the development of mango industry, Baise Municipal Government successfully held the first Baise-Tiandong Mango Cultural Festival in 2007 in Tiandong, the hometown of mango. Since then, the annual Mango Cultural Festival is not only a business card for Baise to showcase itself, but also a mango feast. It has become one of the most influential fruit festivals in China, attracting businessmen and tourists from all over the country as well as guests from chambers of commerce of ASEAN countries, the United States, Australia and others. This has greatly promoted the development of Baise and its mango industry.


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