Specialty Products from Xiangxi Shine at 2026 SIAL Shanghai

The 2026 SIAL Shanghai opened at the Shanghai New International Expo Center on May 18. The enterprise "Xiangchun Yatou" from Luota Township, Longshan County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, made a splendid appearance with four featured products: ready-to-eat chestnut kernels, autumn pear syrup, pear syrup candy, and fermented tofu, receiving high praise from professional buyers at home and abroad.

This year's exhibition is co-hosted by the Comexposium Group, the China General Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations, covering an exhibition area of 200,000 square meters. It brings together over 5,000 brand exhibitors from 75 countries and regions worldwide and is expected to attract over 180,000 professional visitors. The exhibition has been included in Hunan Province's 2026 key economic and trade activity plan and serves as an important platform for helping Hunan products go global. Enterprises in Luota Township stepping onto this international stage for the first time not only showcased the unique charm of high-quality agricultural products from remote mountains but also marked a crucial step in going global to secure international orders and connect with mid-to-high-end buyers.

In recent years, the CPC Committee of Luota Township, the People's Government of Luota Township, and the counterpart assistance task force from Changsha's Tianxin District have prioritized the development of the specialty agricultural industry, continuously optimizing the business environment. From simplifying administrative procedures and coordinating factory land, to connecting with e-commerce platforms and organizing participation in various trade fairs, they have proactively provided front-line services to clear obstacles and build platforms for enterprise development. Meanwhile, they have actively cultivated local brands, promoted unified management of agricultural products, guiding Luota Township's agricultural products from scattered cultivation toward standardized and branded development.

The participation in this exhibition was coordinated and led by the counterpart assistance task force from Tianxin District, Changsha City. Since the first task force was stationed in 2017, it has persistently explored the chestnut cultivation industry, invited experts to select varieties, and expanded the planting scale. Today, the chestnut area in the township has reached several thousand mu (per mu equals about 0.067 hectares), making it the largest chestnut industry base in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. The task force has also successively improved the industrial chain by building processing plants, introducing deep-processing technologies, and broadening online and offline sales channels. Under the task force's support, post-90s entrepreneur Wu Tianchun, a determined young person with a physical disability, has grown into an entrepreneurial leader. He registered the "Xiangchun Yatou" brand, selling products nationwide through e-commerce, driving income growth for nearly 300 rural households, and his cooperative's annual turnover has exceeded 5 million yuan. Currently, Luota Township is gradually forming a new industrial development pattern of "unified management and brand empowerment."

From the remote mountains of Xiangxi to the international stage in Shanghai, the journey of Luota Township enterprises showcases the persistent efforts of the CPC Luota Township Committee and the Luota Township Government to optimize services and the hard work of the counterpart assistance task force from Tianxin District. Riding the momentum of SIAL Shanghai, Luota Township's specialty agricultural products are accelerating their journey out of the mountains and onto the global stage.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunantoday