Gaoyao, is known as the “Hometown of China’s Famous and Special Economic Forest Cinnamon” and “China’s Cinnamon County.” “Gaoyao Cinnamon” has also been registered as a National Geographic Indication Certification Trademark. The core production area of “Gaoyao Cinnamon” is located in the northwest of Gaoyao, in the ancient town of Lubu on the north bank of the Xijiang River. During the cinnamon harvesting season, the mountains and forests of Lubu are filled with the fragrant aroma of cinnamon. Relying on the mountains for sustenance, the villagers of Pishan Village in the Shuangma Village Committee have cultivated cinnamon for generations, with the ten thousand acres of green mountains behind the village now covered in cinnamon trees.
Early in the morning, reporters followed the villagers into the cinnamon mountains to experience the joys and hardships of cinnamon harvesting.
Arriving at a place halfway up the mountain where the cinnamon trees were thriving, villager Ming Ge used a handheld electric saw to cut down a cinnamon tree, and in less than a minute, a ten-meter-high cinnamon tree fell to the ground, much more efficient than using a machete.
On the other side, villager Uncle Zhang was also busy; he used a cinnamon knife as a ruler to measure and mark about 40 centimeters, skillfully stripping the bark in a ring around the trunk, making a vertical cut along the trunk, a step known as “tapping cinnamon.”
Then Uncle Zhang took out a horn shovel, and with a push and a twist, a complete piece of wet cinnamon bark was easily peeled off. The cinnamon bark, cinnamon wood, and cinnamon branches were sorted and stacked for quick “packaging” when going down the mountain.
Cinnamon Farmer Uncle Zhang
In the past, cinnamon bark and wood had to be carried down the mountain on shoulders, weighing over a hundred pounds, which was very laborious. Now, we can use hand carts to push the cinnamon bark and wood to the foot of the mountain, and then transport them out using tricycles or motorcycles.
The cinnamon industry is one of the traditional specialty industries in Lubu Town and even in Gaoyao District, and the farmers are well-versed in all aspects of cinnamon. It is reported that the best time for harvesting cinnamon is only about a month from after Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Day) to before Lixia (Beginning of Summer). Now that Lixia has just passed, the farmers must seize the ten days or so before the cinnamon trees sprout new buds to harvest the cinnamon.
Through wind and rain, cinnamon is harvested. Usually, villagers set off early in the morning with lunch, working until around 5 PM before descending the mountain, continuously repeating the monotonous physical labor. When tired, they rest on the slope, and when hungry, they eat their packed lunch.
Although the scenery is lush and filled with birdsong, it is not exactly pleasant. If you ask them why they persist despite the exhaustion, they may not articulate any profound reasoning, but their words are filled with a sense of pride in the “tradition” and in “our cinnamon.”
Cinnamon Farmer Uncle Zhang
I have been harvesting cinnamon for over ten years. I started going up the mountain to harvest cinnamon with my mother when I was just a child. Our ancestors have been doing this for generations. Cinnamon is a treasure; it provides cinnamon bark, cinnamon wood, and cinnamon branches, and many people come to buy them, sending them to the cinnamon processing factories in Lubu Town. The mountains and waters of Lubu are excellent, and the quality of the cinnamon produced is also high.
The next morning, the villagers brought out the freshly harvested cinnamon bark from yesterday to dry. At this time, the terraces, the square, and the village roads were filled with cinnamon bark, and the entire village was enveloped in the unique fragrant aroma of cinnamon.
A region’s soil and climate nurture its treasures. Lubu Town has many mountains, with a moderate altitude and ample sunlight, making it very suitable for cinnamon growth. The cinnamon produced has thick bark, is fleshy, has few impurities in the essential oil, and high levels of cinnamaldehyde, earning it a reputation both domestically and internationally. The Yufeng Agricultural Products Processing Factory in Lubu Town is one of the enterprises that exports “Gaoyao Cinnamon” to Southeast Asia and the European and American markets.
“The advantages of Gaoyao Cinnamon are its cleanliness, with fewer white spots, and its quality is better than that of other regions. We mainly focus on exports, such as to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, as well as Africa and Egypt, and it is well-received by domestic and international customers. Currently, we mainly deal with primary processed products,” said He Guoming, the director of Yufeng Agricultural Products Processing Factory in Lubu Town. “In the future, we plan to further develop deep processing, such as producing fine packaging and extracting cinnamon oil, to increase added value and acquire more advanced equipment.”
As the town with the largest area of cinnamon cultivation in Gaoyao District, as of 2023, Lubu Town has a cinnamon cultivation area of 160,000 acres, with a yield of 7,940 tons. The town has a total of 44 cinnamon processing factories, with over 3,000 related workers, and the cinnamon, which has been fragrant for thousands of years and is popular overseas, has become a characteristic pillar industry that increases farmers’ income.
Deputy Mayor of Lubu Town Zhang Jianye
In the next step, Lubu Town will take the opportunity of implementing the “Hundred Thousand Project” to seize the opportunity of the cinnamon specialty industry cluster, continue to enhance and optimize the cinnamon local specialty products, actively expand the scale of cinnamon cultivation, and carefully strengthen the cinnamon brand. We will actively explore the “Cinnamon+” industry, accelerate the deep processing of cinnamon branches, leaves, oil, and cinnamon tea, continuously extend the industrial chain, and promote the high-quality development of the southern medicine industry in Lubu.
In Gaoyao, cinnamon is not only a southern medicine and an ingredient, but also a part of the local people’s lives, embodying their aspirations for a better life, and is one of the treasures for strengthening the county, promoting towns, and supporting villages.
▲ Photos by Zou Huabin
In recent years, Gaoyao has effectively focused on building the “Shrimp, Duck, Pig, Sheep, and Cinnamon” six agricultural industrial chains, refining and deepening the “local specialty” products. Now, Gaoyao has innovatively developed a series of “Gaoyao Cinnamon” New Year dishes, such as delicate and pure Gaoyao rice noodles, fragrant and tasty Gaoyao tea, rich and full-bodied Gaoyao wine, aromatic Gaoyao wrapped steamed dumplings, and delicious and crispy Gaoyao shrimp cakes, as well as exploring the breeding of Gaoyao shrimp and Gaoyao ducks, injecting strong momentum into the high-quality development of the cinnamon industry.
▲ Photo by Wu Yudan
Gaoyao District Media Center Reporter: Yong Cong, Ye Zi, Hua Bin Edited by: Lin Yinhong Second Review: Liang Yong Cong Third Review: Lan Hui Gaoyao District Media Center News Department Production
Life First, Safety First
