Basic Introduction to Macheng Fubai Chrysanthemum
The town of Futianhe in the northern Dabie Mountains of Macheng City, Hubei Province, is a mountainous area with rich cultural heritage and a history of revolutionary activity. Fubai Chrysanthemum is a brand of chrysanthemums that has been cultivated for over a thousand years in the northern mountainous areas centered around Futianhe, having been refined by countless chrysanthemum enthusiasts.
In recent years, Fubai Chrysanthemum has gained a significant reputation, gradually breaking the dominance of Hangbai Chrysanthemum in the market. As the planting, processing, and marketing standards for Fubai Chrysanthemum in our city have improved comprehensively, its technical indicators surpass those of well-known chrysanthemums such as Hangbai Chrysanthemum. As a result, Fubai Chrysanthemum has quickly gained widespread market recognition and captured major cities across the country. However, due to the lack of a registered certification trademark for our local Fubai Chrysanthemum brand, unscrupulous merchants have taken advantage of this, leading to frequent incidents of counterfeit Fubai Chrysanthemum, causing significant harm to chrysanthemum farmers in the Fubai Chrysanthemum production areas of our city. To protect the legitimate rights and interests of users and consumers, safeguard the distinctive local brand “Fubai Chrysanthemum,” effectively maintain and enhance the credibility of “Fubai Chrysanthemum” in domestic and international markets, and effectively curb the counterfeiting of “Fubai Chrysanthemum” products and the “Fubai Chrysanthemum” brand, we have applied for the national certification trademark for “Fubai Chrysanthemum.”
Nutritional Value
Fubai Chrysanthemum has a sweet-bitter taste and is slightly cold in nature. It possesses functions of nourishing the liver and improving vision, dispelling wind and clearing heat, detoxifying, and reducing swelling. It is used to treat conditions like wind-heat colds, dizziness, vertigo, headaches, tinnitus, redness and swelling of the eyes, sore throat, boils and abscesses, among others. Long-term consumption of chrysanthemum tea can clear the mind and improve vision, relieve summer heat and irritability, calm the liver and reduce fire, purify the five organs, detoxify and strengthen the body, improve cognitive function, and prolong life, preventing various diseases. It can alleviate the condition of patients with coronary heart disease and has inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, influenza viruses, etc. It has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, and free-radical scavenging properties, providing effective treatment for viruses such as SARS.
History and Folklore
Chrysanthemums are one of the traditional top ten flowers in China and are among the “four gentlemen” of flowers. According to “Compendium of Materia Medica,” white chrysanthemums have the effect of dispersing wind and clearing heat, improving vision, and detoxifying, and are referred to by herbalists as “broad-spectrum antibiotics.” Fubai Chrysanthemum originally grew wild on a remarkable peak in the Dabie Mountains. In the third year of the Zhidao period of Emperor Taizong's reign (997 AD), it was transplanted to the vicinity of Chunyang Temple in Futianhe by Taoist priests from the temple. Due to its “clean beauty, fragrant seclusion, and ability to repel evil spirits” (recorded in the Macheng County Annals), it was transplanted by Taoist believers visiting the temple to their courtyards and gardens. Initially planted for ornamental purposes, it was later used to make tea and infuse wine, and its medicinal, therapeutic, and health benefits were gradually discovered, being considered a “fine delicacy and the best drink.” During the Ming and Qing dynasties, under the active promotion of high-ranking officials and celebrities from Futianhe, such as Chancellor Zheng Yiwei, Governor Mei Guozhen of Shanxi, and Imperial Censor Mei Zhihuan, some residents of Futianhe expanded the cultivation of chrysanthemums from their courtyards to fields, developing a set of farming, propagation, drying, and storage practices for Fubai Chrysanthemum. Fubai Chrysanthemum began to be presented as a valuable gift by local officials and sold at high prices by shrewd merchants in places like Nanjing and Kaifeng.
During the Great Revolution, the Fourth Red Army was founded in Futianhe, Macheng, and fought battles in the regions around Macheng, Hong'an, and Xin county. The people of Futianhe gifted Fubai Chrysanthemum to the Red Army. Red Army soldiers used Fubai Chrysanthemum to clean wounds when injured and drank tea made from it when thirsty, making it deeply loved by the soldiers. In the winter of 1957, Xu Shiyou, then Deputy Minister of National Defense and Commander of the Nanjing Military Region, passed through his maternal grandmother's home in Xianyang Rock, Futianhe, Macheng, while returning to his hometown of Xujia Wa, Tiangpu Township, Xin County, Henan (originally part of Macheng). He praised the chrysanthemum tea served by his maternal grandmother's family and instructed his guards to take several pounds of chrysanthemums back to Nanjing.
Since the reform and opening up, Macheng City has consistently focused on Fubai Chrysanthemum as a leading agricultural specialty industry. The city has included the chrysanthemum industry in its “Six Hundred-Li Special Economic Zones” plan and provided strong support in terms of projects and funding. The city has also actively conducted technical training for chrysanthemum farmers, established a chrysanthemum association, and seen a steady increase in both the quality and yield of Fubai Chrysanthemum. By 2000, Futianhe had become one of the “Three Major Chrysanthemum Bases in China.” In 2005, there were 16,000 households growing Fubai Chrysanthemum in the city, producing over 1,300 tons, generating a revenue of more than 50 million RMB.
In recent years, chrysanthemum merchants from all over the country have gathered in Macheng City to conduct transactions of Fubai Chrysanthemum. More than ten chrysanthemum product trademarks have been registered in the city. The entire city now operates according to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) guidelines for the production of Chinese medicinal materials, implementing standardized planting and processing. Eight chrysanthemum processing enterprises have been built, producing over 20 varieties of Fubai Chrysanthemum tea beverages. In 2003, Futianhe Town attracted investment, bringing in Fuhai Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., which invested 7.2 million RMB to build the Fubai Chrysanthemum Industrial Park covering 13.5 acres. The company has independent import and export rights, three chrysanthemum blanching production lines, 12 drying rooms, a 250-ton chrysanthemum cold storage facility, two packaging workshops, and one warehouse. Member company of the Fubai Chrysanthemum Industry Association—Hubei Bangyu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.—is also using its GMP-certified workshop for deep processing of chrysanthemum health drinks and has reached production order agreements with multiple domestic and foreign merchants.