The State Intellectual Property Office recently announced the list of geographical indication protection projects for this year, with two geographical indications from Shandong province being selected, namely Jinxiang garlic and Zhanhua winter jujubes.

Jinxiang county in Jining, Shandong is known worldwide as the hometown of garlic. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_6f6ae2fa9944]

Jinxiang garlic has a history dating back to the early Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), spanning over 2,000 years. Jinxiang county in Jining, Shandong is known worldwide as the hometown of garlic. In recent years, Jinxiang has leveraged its strong foundation and resources in the garlic industry to create a garlic industrial cluster with a total output value of 100 billion yuan ($13.76 billion).

The county currently maintains a year-round garlic cultivation area of 700,000 mu (approximately 116,000 acres), with a production of 900,000 metric tons. It has established a national-level standardized production base for green food materials (garlic) spanning 300,000 mu.

The county boasts 58 large-scale garlic processing enterprises with an annual processing capacity of 1.1 million tons. Their garlic products are exported to over 170 countries and regions, and their single agricultural product exports have continuously ranked first in the country in terms of foreign exchange earnings.

Zhanhua winter jujubes taste sweet, crispy and delicious, and are famous for their unique texture. [Photo/WeChat account: lbwbsd]

Zhanhua winter jujubes taste sweet, crispy and delicious, and are famous for their unique texture. The excellent quality of the jujubes is due to the unique local climate, and superior environmental conditions.

Zhanhua winter jujubes are grown throughout 443 villages in 12 townships in Zhanhua district, with 126,100 households engaged in the cultivation of the fruit. This has formed a large industrial cluster, helping improve the quality of the Zhanhua winter jujubes and increase the prosperity of jujube farmers.