How did Xinglong Hawthorn become the "Industry Benchmark"? The Path of Regional Advantage and Industrial Upgrading

In China's hawthorn industry landscape, "Xinglong Hawthorn" is undoubtedly a golden brand. As the "Hawthorn Capital of China" and "National Standardized Production Base for Green Food Raw Material Hawthorn", Xinglong Hawthorn has become an industry-recognized benchmark with its excellent quality and complete industrial chain. The rise of this small red fruit not only relies on its unique geographical advantages but also benefits from decades of consistent industrial upgrading, achieving a leap from "scale advantage" to "quality advantage" and "value advantage".

Xinglong Hawthorn's benchmark position is primarily rooted in its irreplicable geographical advantages. Located in the eastern section of the Yanshan Mountains, Xinglong County benefits from the ecological dividends of the Wuling Mountain National Nature Reserve. The sandy soil in the area is deep and well-aerated, perfectly matching hawthorn trees' preference for loose soil and tolerance for poor soil conditions. The pure, unpolluted spring water hundred meters underground provides excellent water resources for hawthorn growth. The abundant sunlight averaging 2,800 hours annually and the day-night temperature difference above 10°C not only allow hawthorns to accumulate sufficient sugar but also enrich them with flavanols, dietary fiber, and catechins. Professional testing has shown that the catechin content in Xinglong hawthorn can be five times that of ordinary varieties - this is the core secret of its quality superiority.

Historically, hawthorn cultivation in Xinglong can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. Legend has it that Emperor Kangxi, while hunting in the area, incorporated hawthorn into the imperial diet for its digestive and palate-cleansing properties, thus initiating large-scale cultivation in the region. Centuries of cultivation have led to Xinglong developing unique hawthorn cultivation techniques. Local farmers are well-versed in the four-season care method of "spring flower thinning, summer pruning, autumn harvesting, and winter tree nurturing", establishing a traditional foundation for quality.
What truly established Xinglong Hawthorn as an industry benchmark is its path of industrial upgrading. In cultivation, Xinglong has moved away from the previous "individual farming, extensive management" model, using farmers' professional cooperatives as links to build a standardized cultivation system of "leading enterprises + cooperatives + bases + farmers". The county's total hawthorn plantation area exceeds 220,000 mu, with core areas achieving organic certification. They have also established hawthorn breeding bases, optimizing varieties through scientific research to ensure stable yield while improving fruit commercialization rate and nutritional density.

In processing, Xinglong Hawthorn has broken through the limitations of primary processing like "fruit leather and hawthorn cakes", advancing to a new stage of deep processing. Local enterprises have introduced 100,000-grade clean processing workshops, creating professional production lines for flavanol extraction, dietary fiber separation, and functional beverage brewing, achieving "whole fruit utilization": The pulp can be made into hawthorn snacks and low-sugar preserved fruits; the peel can be used to extract high-value flavanols for health products; and the seeds can be distilled into kernel oil antiseptic, multiplying the added value of each hawthorn. Meanwhile, targeting modern consumers' health needs, enterprises have launched innovative products such as additive-free, low-sugar, and low-GI options, adapting traditional red fruits to new dietary trends.
In branding and marketing, Xinglong drives growth through both "regional public brands + enterprise brands", expanding sales channels through e-commerce platforms and live streaming. They have also developed agricultural tourism projects leveraging hawthorn plantations and processing bases, establishing hawthorn cultural museums and study bases, receiving over 60,000 students annually for educational visits, transforming from "selling products" to "selling brands and culture".

Chengde Ruitai Food Co., Ltd. is one of the core drivers of Xinglong's hawthorn industry upgrade. As a local leading enterprise, Ruitai has built an industrial structure of "three parks and two platforms", collaborating with the Provincial Hawthorn Industry Technology Research Institute to solve multiple processing challenges. Their developed products, such as hawthorn snacks and additive-free preserved fruits, have become market bestsellers. Additionally, the enterprise helps thousands of farmers increase their income through protective price purchasing and dividend sharing, both strengthening Xinglong hawthorn's raw material foundation and providing strong enterprise support for the industry benchmark's continued leadership.

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