When was wheat introduced to China? Latest analysis

Wheat is a monocotyledonous plant of the grass family widely grown around the world, one of the three major grains, almost entirely used for food; after being ground into flour it can be made into bread, steamed buns, biscuits, noodles and other foods, and after fermentation it can be made into beer, alcohol, liquor (such as vodka) or biofuel. Let us take a look below at when wheat was introduced to China!

When was wheat introduced to China?

Wheat originated in West Asia and was later introduced to China, gradually replacing the two kinds of millet, foxtail millet and broomcorn millet, to become the main crop of dryland farming in northern China, forming today’s agricultural production pattern in China of “rice in the south and wheat in the north”. At present, archaeological discoveries of early wheat remains that have been reported number as many as several dozen cases. These newly discovered archaeological evidences show that wheat had already been introduced into China proper no later than 4000 years ago, and very likely as early as 4500 years ago.

How was wheat introduced to China?

There were at least two routes by which wheat was introduced to China, namely the steppe corridor and the oasis corridor. The spread route of the steppe corridor was West Asia - Central Asia - the Bronze Age cultures of the Eurasian steppe - the cultural region of northern China - the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River; the spread route of the oasis corridor was West Asia - Central Asia - the Pamir Plateau - the oases on the north and south sides of the Tarim Basin - the Hexi Corridor - the Loess Plateau region.

What wheat production areas are there in China?

1. Spring wheat region: The spring wheat region is mainly distributed in the areas north of the Great Wall and west of Mount Min and Mount Daxue. Most of these areas lie in high-cold or dry-cold zones, where winters are severely cold and winter wheat cannot overwinter safely, so spring wheat is planted.

2. Northern winter wheat region: The northern winter wheat region is China’s largest concentrated wheat production area and consumption area, mainly in the areas south of the Great Wall, east of the Liupan Mountains and north of the Qinling Mountains and Huai River. The sown area and output account for about 2/3 of China’s total.

3. Southern winter wheat region: The southern winter wheat region is an important production area of commercial wheat in China, located south of the Qinling Mountains and Huai River and east of Zheduo Mountain. The sown area and total output account for about 30%. Because the people of this region mostly use rice as their staple food, the commercialization rate of wheat is relatively high.