Recently, the Chenzhou Agricultural Investment Project Promotion Conference, along with the Private Economy Symposium was held, with 120 high-quality agricultural investment projects selected, where Chenzhou’s top ten key agricultural industry investment sectors were promoted to enterprises across the country.

1. Selenium-rich industry projects

Selenium is an essential trace element for the human body. Chenzhou is a natural land rich in selenium, with 10,800 square kilometers of selenium-rich soil, accounting for 55.67% of the total land area.

Jiahe and Rucheng have been respectively awarded the provincial key county and demonstration county for selenium-rich projects. Eight enterprise bases in the city have been included in the provincial selenium-rich project demonstration bases.

In 2024, the output value of selenium-rich agricultural products in the city exceeded 3 billion yuan; a number of brands such as Jiahe selenium-rich rice, Rucheng selenium-rich plum and Yizhang selenium-rich navel orange have been cultivated.

Chenzhou City will comprehensively tap into the the selenium-rich industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period. Among them, Anren County and Jiahe County focus on developing selenium rich rice. Selenium-rich vegetables will be developed in key areas such as Beihu District, Suxian District, Jiahe County and Rucheng County.

Selenium-rich fruits will be developed in Zixing City, Yongxing County and Yizhang County. Selenium-rich tea will be held in Zixing City, Zixing City, Guidong County and other places.

Efforts are being made to develop selenium-rich traditional Chinese medicinal materials in Guiyang County, Guidong County and Anren County. And it will focus on developing selenium-rich livestock and poultry industry in Suxian District, Linwu County and other places.

This year, Chenzhou has issued the “Development Plan for Selenium rich Functional Agriculture in Chenzhou City (2026-2030)”, which focuses on the “full chain value-added of selenium resources” and constructs a national level industrial pattern of “one highland and three centers”.

At the same time, special funds, priority land supply, and tax incentives will empower the development, deep processing, and upgrading of the entire chain of selenium products for health, wellness, culture, and tourism.

2. Facility agriculture and smart agriculture projects

Chenzhou City has worked to accelerate the development of modern facility agriculture like facility-based planting, animal husbandry and fishing. Now, 22 planting demonstration bases and 1.41 million square meters of facilities for cultivation of rice seedlings have been built. 139 new pig farms and 236 poultry farms have been added.

It has implemented the transformation and upgrading of facility-based fishery industry, with the area of factory-based aquaculture increased fivefold in five years, and intensive production achieved in Zixing Eel Base.

It plans to build 700 cold chain storage warehouses and 60 grain drying centers.

At the same time, it has developed intelligent agricultural machinery suitable for hilly terrain, promoted the application of “Beidou Navigation Satellite plus digital agriculture”, and built the first fully unmanned rice demonstration park in China.

Anren County, Yongxing County and Guiyang County have been selected for the National Plant Protection Capacity Enhancement Project, with fertigation covering 93,900 mu (6,260 hectares) of farmland.

Chenzhou City will focus on attracting facility-based vegetable planting projects in Suxian District, Jiahe County, Guidong County and other places during the 15th Five-Year Plan, and attracting facility-based fishery projects in Zixing City, Yongxing County and Anren County.

In terms of smart agriculture, it will attract smart agricultural machinery projects in Beihu District and Suxian District. It will help develop smart fruit projects in Zixing City, Yizhang County, Yongxing County and Linwu County. Smart rice projects will be implemented in Anren County, Guiyang County and Yongxing County, and smart breeding projects will be implemented in major counties for pig farming.

3. Deep processing projects for fruit and vegetable products

In 2024, the annual vegetable planting area in Chenzhou was 1.95 million mu (130,000 hectares), with an output of 3.72 million tons. The fruit planting area was 2 million mu (133,333 hectares), including nearly one million mu (66,667 hectares) of citrus, with a yield of nearly 800,000 tons and an output value of over 8.6 billion yuan.

It has cultivated agricultural product brands such as Yizhang Navel Orange, Yongxing Bingtang Orange, Rucheng Small Yellow Ginger and Guidong Alpine Vegetables. Among them, Yizhang County has been awarded the title of “Hometown of Navel Oranges in China”, and Yongxing Bingtang Orange has been awarded the title of “Top Ten Famous Oranges in China”.

According to the development plan of the fruit and vegetable industry in Chenzhou, with a focus on deep processing of fruits and vegetables, it is planned to build a clean vegetable processing project in Beihu District.

It will invest in the whole citrus industrial chain projects in Zixing City, Yizhang County and Yongxing County. Deep processing projects for taro and small fruits will be implemented in Linwu County.

Vegetables, edible mushrooms and other projects will be implemented in Suxian District and Jiahe County, promoting the integrated construction of production, processing and sales of fruits and vegetables.

Chenzhou has introduced policies such as “Several Measures to Promote High Quality Development of Vegetable Industry in Chenzhou City” and “Three-Year Action Plan for High Quality Development of Citrus Industry in Chenzhou City (2023-2025)” to support the development of industries such as fruit and vegetable processing, and establish a linkage system of “finance plus insurance plus finance” for the development of the vegetable and fruit industry.

4. Deep processing projects for livestock, poultry and aquatic products

Chenzhou is leading the way in the livestock and poultry industry, with 5.8795 million live pigs, 33.5916 million poultry, and 77,000 tons of poultry eggs in 2024.

Among them, the full-chain output value of live pigs has exceeded 30 billion yuan, with one national level agricultural industrialization leading enterprise and seven provincial-level leading enterprises. An industrial supply system involving scale breeding, appointed-abattoir slaughtering and deep processing has been built.

As an important supply base for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), it annually delivers 1.61 million high-quality live pigs to the GBA and supplies 40,000 pigs to Hong Kong. 15 major breeding enterprises across the country have established their presence in Chenzhou City.

The city has built a characteristic fishery system relying on its high-quality mountain and water resources.

In this system, high mountain Hehua fish is a national geographical indication product, and the production of salmon and sturgeon accounts for 80% and 70% of the province’s total respectively.

The city's aquaculture water surface covers 420,000 mu (28,000 hectares), with a total output of 122,700 tons of aquatic products. One national level leading enterprise and four provincial-level leading enterprises have been established. Dongjiang Fish Group has been listed among the top 20 in the national aquaculture industry.

Chenzhou focuses on extending the livestock, poultry, and aquatic industry chain, and supports the construction of pig deep processing projects in Suxian District, Yizhang County and Guiyang County.

Special aquaculture processing projects will be implemented in Zixing City, Yongxing County and Anren County. Pigeon breeding and processing projects will be developed in Guiyang County and Anren County.

It will support the development of broiler farming and processing projects in Beihu District and Rucheng County, and beef and dairy cattle breeding and processing projects in Guiyang County, Linwu County, Rucheng County and Guidong County.

At present, Chenzhou has successfully applied for the 2025 National Pig Industry Cluster Project and received central financial support. The finance department of Chenzhou City arranges special funds for the development of advantageous and characteristic industries every year, with a focus on supporting the development of agricultural product processing enterprises.

Guidong County has built a high-altitude yellow cattle breeding area and provided a 50% subsidy for transfer fees of grazing land. Zixing has established a 100 million yuan “Dongjiang Fish Industry Fund” to support the construction of aquatic seedlings, processing and other links.

5. Traditional Chinese herbs projects

The traditional Chinese herbs industry in Chenzhou is seeing a strong development momentum, with a total planting area of 684,000 mu (45,600 hectares) and a total output of 352,000 tons.

There are over 10,000 mu (666.67 hectares) of such genuine medicinal materials as Guiyang Yu Zhu, Guidong Magnolia officinalis, Anren fructus aurantii.

Anren fructus aurantii, Guidong monk fruit and Guidong Rhizoma Polygonati are national geographical indication products.

Guiyang County, Guidong County and Anren County have been selected as provincial demonstration counties for traditional Chinese herbs.

Chenzhou will help build regional centers for the production and decoction of traditional Chinese herb decoction pieces in urban areas. In Guidong County, it will develop Gang Mei, Rhizoma Polygonati, monk fruit, etc.

It will plant Fructus Aurantii, Rhizoma Polygonati, Gang Mei etc. in Anren County,  Yu Zhu, Rhizoma Polygonati, etc. in Guiyang County.

It will plant honeysuckle in Rucheng County, yellow gardenia in Yongxing County,  Gang Mei in Yizhang County, Xianglian lotus in Zixing City, fructus evodiae in Jiahe County, monk fruit in Linwu County, and mushrooms and processing projects in Yizhang County.

6. Forestry economy projects

The oil tea industry in Chenzhou has obtained national geographical indication trademarks. Suxian District, Guidong County and Rucheng County have been listed as provincial key counties for the development of the bamboo industry.

The city has established two characteristic bamboo industrial parks and formed three small industrial clusters. The city has 3 national demonstration bases for non-timber forest economy and 19 leading enterprises at or above the provincial level.

The oil tea deep processing projects will be mainly distributed in Suxian District, Yongxing County and Anren County. As for the Nan bamboo industry, bamboo shoot and timber dual-use bamboo forest base construction projects will be planned in the whole city, especially in Rucheng County, Beihu District, Suxian District and Zixing City.

Bamboo forest renovation and construction projects will be implemented in Rucheng County and Guidong County.

Bamboo and wood full industrial chain development projects will be implemented in Beihu District, Suxian District, Zixing City, Rucheng County and Yongxing County.

Traditional Chinese herbs and mushrooms, etc., will be planted under forests in Anren County, Guiyang County, Guidong County and other places.

Agroforestry projects will be implemented in Yizhang County, Yongxing County, Linwu County and other areas. In Suxian District, Rucheng County, Anren County and other areas, forest wellness and rural tourism projects are being developed.

7. Cultivation and promotion projects for local characteristic varieties

Chenzhou is located in the golden climate zone at 25 degrees north latitude, with a forest coverage rate of 68%, building the ecological barrier of southern China. High-quality natural environments such as selenium-rich soil and high mountain spring water have nurtured famous and unique new products such as Rucheng Baimao Tea, small yellow ginger, Zixing Beiji chili peppers and Dongjianghu kumquat.

Chenzhou will focus on developing Baimao tea, little yellow ginger in Rucheng County, Beiji chili peppers and Dongjianghu kumquats in Zixing City, Turmeric, Fangyuan watermelon, Guanxi radish in Guiyang County.

Characteristic industries such as Mangshan black dolphin, Yizhang Landaise goose, and Mangshan Ganoderma lucidum in Yizhang County will be developed. Sihuang chicken will be raised in Yongxing County and Xiangnan yellow cattle will be raised in Linwu County.

High-altitude vegetable and fruit planting projects will be developed in Guidong County.

8. Leisure food processing and development projects of medicinal and edible products

Through the model of “brand building, deep processing, e-commerce live streaming”, Chenzhou has formed a leisure food industry cluster covering livestock and poultry products, fish products, soy products, preserved fruit products and other categories, represented by brands such as Linwu duck, Dongjiang fish, and Heping tofu, with an annual output value of over 6 billion yuan.

At the same time, products that have medicinal and edible values, as a unique branch of leisure food, are increasingly favored by consumers due to their natural and safe characteristics.

Relying on the ecological treasure trove of the Nanling Mountains, the cultural and health resources, Chenzhou has made great efforts to develop Medicine Food Homology (MFP) Products during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

Chenzhou plans to develop MFP leisure foods relying on the product research and development institution of Chenzhou Municipal Hospital of TCM, develop wellness beverages like coix seed wine based on intangible cultural heritage solid-state fermentation skills in Jiahe County and Rucheng County.

Relying on the existing development foundation of the tea industry, industrial chain projects such as deep processing of tea polyphenols and tea wine will be implemented in Guidong County and Yizhang County.

Chenzhou City has been designated as a core area for revitalizing Hunan medicine. 30% subsidy for equipment investment and a reward of 500,000 yuan for GMP certification for projects related to MFP products will be provided.

It will also open a green approval channel to shorten the product launch cycle, and simultaneously include it in the medical insurance catalog and the recommended list for cultural, tourism and wellness consumption.

9. Integration projects of agriculture, culture, tourism and commerce

Relying on ethnic intangible cultural heritage, Red sites, Ming and Qing ancient architecture and other rural resources, the areas around Shazhou area and Bailixi River have become national demonstration zones for rural revitalization.

New benchmarks for “rural revitalization and integration of agriculture, culture, tourism, and commerce” have been established in demonstration areas such as Xiaobu Village in Beihu District, Heping Village in Suxian District, and Hexie Village in Guiyang County, supported with boutique homestay inns, study camps and other carriers, successfully creating cultural and tourism IPs.

Chenzhou plans to help build integration projects of agriculture, culture, tourism and commerce in Qizishi Village in Beihu District, Feitianshan Village in Suxian District and other places.

Hunan Province has issued the “Several Measures to Further Promote Cultural and Tourism Empowerment for Rural Revitalization”, joined hands with 19 departments to provide guarantees for the development of agricultural, cultural and tourism industries from multiple dimensions such as land use, funding, and talent.

Chenzhou integrates resources from cultural tourism, education, natural resources, agriculture and rural areas, and provides policy support.

In 2025, Guiyang County was included in the second batch of national pilot projects of cultural industry empowering rural revitalization.

10. “Chenpin Chenwei” brand marketing and promotion

Led by “Chenpin Chenwei” agricultural brand, Chenzhou City has cultivated 16 regional public brands like Chenzhou Blessed Tea and Yizhang navel orange, and as well as 331 certificated agricultural products.

“Chenpin Chenwei” ranks 24th in the list of China’s top 100 regional agricultural image brand influence. Yongxing Bingtang Orange has been included in the Agricultural Brand Quality Cultivation Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Linwu Duck, Yizhang Navel Orange and Rucheng Chaotian Chili Pepper have been selected as outstanding agricultural brands in Hunan Province.

Chenzhou plans to establish regional exhibition and marketing centers for “Chenpin Chenwei” agricultural products with a certain scale and influence in key cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Dongguan, to build an agricultural tourism consumption ecosystem, enhance the brand awareness nationwide, and help “Chenpin Chenwei” firmly rank among the top 20 agricultural brands in China.

Chinese source: hunantoday