Hometown of China's Zhacai pickles turns humble side dish into income-boosting pillar industry
Fuling district, the hometown of Zhacai (pickled mustard tubers) in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, has turned its renowned Zhacai products from a humble side dish into a major economic pillar that supports the livelihoods of over 600,000 local people.
Photo shows Fuling Zhacai, a kind of pickled mustard tubers from Fuling district, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Photo/Zhong Yi)
Fuling Zhacai, a "national appetizer" dating back to 1898, is widely known for its deliciously refreshing taste and crisp, tender texture.
Over the past century, Fuling Zhacai has evolved into the largest, most well-known, and most influential characteristic industry in Chongqing's rural economy, and become one of the world's three most famous pickled vegetables alongside European sour gherkins and German sweet-sour sauerkraut.
In addition, Fuling district's traditional pickle-making technique was listed as China's national-level intangible cultural heritage.
Data suggest that the district's pickle-making industry boasts an annual output value of over 14 billion yuan ($1.93 billion), with 197 pickle-related stock cooperatives and 41 pickle-making companies.
So far, the industry has developed over 100 types of products under four major categories, including Zhacai's key ingredient tumorous stem mustard, whole pickled mustard stem, quick-service varieties, and export-grade goods.
Photo shows Fuling Zhacai, a kind of pickled mustard tubers from Fuling district, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, being served with various dishes. (Photo courtesy of Chongqing Fuling Zhacai Group Co., Ltd.)
Each year, the district is able to produce more than 800,000 tonnes of semi-finished products and over 600,000 tonnes of finished products. The products are sold across China and exported to over 80 countries and regions, increasing the income of more than 600,000 people in Fuling and its neighboring areas.
By embracing green development and combining traditional methods with modern technology, Fuling's century-old pickle-making industry is thriving like never before.
The Fuling national modern agricultural industrial park, covering an area of 503 square kilometers, has adopted a development strategy aimed at promoting the construction of the industrial park through the development of the pickle-making industry, and driving rural revitalization through the park's development.
Under a development model characterized by the integration of science, industry, and agriculture, the industrial park has formed a comprehensive industrial chain featuring major industries, fine processing, high technologies, deep integration, and quality services.
At the park's core area, the Chongqing Yudongnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, an agricultural research facility, has independently developed over 20 high-quality, high-yielding new varieties of tumorous stem mustard with resistance to adverse environmental conditions.
Photo shows an aerial view of Fuling district in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Photo courtesy of Chongqing Fuling Zhacai Group Co., Ltd.)
In 2024, Fuling launched and upgraded an intelligent empowerment center named "Zhacai industry brain" in an effort to break down information barriers between farmers, suppliers, and distributors.
The center has effectively improved both the production and marketing capabilities of farmers and relevant businesses with intelligent technologies and efficient services, accelerating the digital and intelligent transformation of the entire pickle-making industry.
Chongqing Fuling Zhacai Group Co., Ltd., the only publicly listed company in China's pickle-making industry, has leveraged advanced technologies to build the industry's first state-of-the-art intelligent production line with an annual capacity of 16,000 tonnes of Zhacai pickles.
The entire production process—from washing and seasoning the raw materials to packing the finished product—is now fully automated at the production line, cutting labor costs by more than 50 percent while reducing environmental impacts.
"Intelligent, green transformation is the only way to the high-quality development of the pickle-making industry," said an executive of the Chongqing Fuling Zhacai Group Co., Ltd., which is headquartered in Fuling district.
Using the intelligent production line as a pilot, the group is speeding up the construction of a featured intelligent manufacturing industrial park with a smart management platform and an intelligent production system empowered by cutting-edge technologies including cloud computing, big data, and the Internet of Things.
Photo shows automated transportation at a production line of Chongqing Fuling Zhacai Group Co., Ltd., a pickle-making company headquartered in Fuling district, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Photo courtesy of Chongqing Fuling Zhacai Group Co., Ltd.)
Upon completion, the industrial park is expected to integrate capabilities concerning intelligent production, big data-driven efficient management, harmonious ecological environment, and featured industrial tourism.
Beyond tech-empowered transformation and upgrading, the local authorities of Fuling district have continuously tapped into the burgeoning pickle-making industry for greater success, riding the wave of the country's rural revitalization campaign to improve the livelihoods of local residents.
The local government has set up a dedicated service center to guide the development of the pickle-making industry, and implemented an interest linkage mechanism and a price protection mechanism to protect the interests of both farmers and companies.
These mechanisms have encouraged long-term partnerships between farmers and cooperatives, and enabled more than 70 percent of the local tumorous stem mustard planting base to implement contract farming, ensuring the stable production and supply of tumorous stem mustards.
At the same time, the district is dedicated to preserving and carrying forward the cultural heritage associated with Fuling Zhacai.
Photo shows tumorous stem mustards, a key ingredient of Fuling Zhacai (pickled mustard tubers), displayed at an expo. Fuling district in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality is widely known for its Zhacai pickles. (Photo/Zhong Yi)
In January this year, a museum covering an area of about 15,000 square meters, named the Museum of Historical Memory of Fuling Zhacai, opened in the former residence of Qiu Shou'an, the man who invented Zhacai in Fuling district.
Through diverse exhibits and interactive activities that showcase the production techniques, the agricultural practices, and the cultural significance of Zhacai, the museum offers visitors fascinating insights into the history and craftsmanship behind this beloved food.
Moreover, Fuling has vigorously promoted the development of projects featuring the in-depth integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism in the pickle-making industry.
A total of 38 Zhacai-themed leisure agriculture and rural tourism demonstration sites have been established across the district, attracting over 2 million visitors annually.
By virtue of its achievements in the exploration of the integrated development of the agriculture, culture, and tourism sectors, Fuling has been awarded the honorary title of "national leisure agriculture and rural tourism demonstration district".
Given the fact that more than half of the people in Fuling district are involved in the pickle-making industry, the sound and rapid development of the industry has brought intangible benefits to local communities.
In Erdu village, Jiangbei subdistrict of Fuling, which is known as the "world's No.1 pickle village", the pickle-making industry accounts for over 70 percent of the village's income, and the village's per capita average annual disposable income has surpassed 25,000 yuan.
Today, Fuling district is exploring new opportunities to expand its pickle-making industry.
Research reports from the industry have indicated that Fuling's pickle-making industry is expanding its young customer base by incorporating Zhacai into more diverse food products and consumption scenarios, such as hiking, traveling, and camping, among other outdoor activities.
As new consumption scenarios gain steam, the Zhacai market is marching toward a trend of healthier, diversified, convenient, and exquisite offerings, according to an industry insider.
Photo shows co-branded products jointly launched by Chongqing Fuling Zhacai Group Co., Ltd., a pickle-making company headquartered in Fuling district, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, and other companies. (Photo courtesy of Chongqing Fuling Zhacai Group Co., Ltd.)
Local authorities of Fuling district disclosed that efforts will be made to empower the pickle-making industry to explore crossover collaborations and develop co-branded products such as Zhacai-flavored coffee, mooncakes, and hamburgers, in a bid to further extend the industrial chain.
The district is striving to expand its planting area of tumorous stem mustard to 750,000 mu (50,000 hectares), with a total output of 1.9 million tonnes by the year 2027.
It aims to achieve an industrial output value of 20 billion yuan with over 650,000 tonnes of finished Zhacai products produced and sold on an annual basis.
The ultimate goal is to establish Fuling as the world's largest hub for Zhacai production, marketing, and innovation.
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