Introduction of Tianshan Snow Chrysanthemum in Bozhou: A Full Record of One Hundred Mu of Cultivation
A breeze blowing at 1000 millimeters per second,
The wings of 10 million bees vibrating,
A walk lasting 1000 heartbeats,
The baptism of 10 million olfactory cells,
The dancing embrace of 10 million snow chrysanthemums……
Close your eyes~
Is it the tranquil stillness of being in the Tianshan canyon, or the beautiful concerto of nature?
This is a feeling that cannot be described in words…
In 2012, General Manager Yin Yunfeng of Anhui Sainuo Green Chinese Herbal Medicine Planting Technology Co., Ltd. traveled to ** for inspection, and from then on, Tianshan Snow Chrysanthemum embarked on a journey to be ‘married into’ Bozhou…
1. Snow Chrysanthemum Is Unearthed: Fresh Out of the Mountains and Sought After, Prices Soar
The scientific name of Tianshan Snow Chrysanthemum is Coreopsis tinctoria, also known as double-colored golden coreopsis. In **, people call it: snow chrysanthemum, Tianshan snow chrysanthemum, Kunlun snow chrysanthemum, Kunlun blood chrysanthemum, high-cold snow chrysanthemum, and so on.
In January 2007, the ** Institute of Materia Medica was commissioned to conduct an acute toxicity test on snow chrysanthemum, and the results showed that snow chrysanthemum has no acute toxic reaction whatsoever. Afterward, multiple research institutions completed numerous studies on snow chrysanthemum, confirming that snow chrysanthemum has five major effects: regulating the “three highs” (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high blood lipids), aiding weight loss and beauty, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, nourishing the myocardium, and improving sleep quality.
In 2008, snow chrysanthemum emerged from the mountains as a floral tea, entered the market, and made its way into ordinary households. When it first entered the tea market, the little-known snow chrysanthemum was priced at around one hundred yuan per kilogram. By 2011, due to frenzied market speculation, the price of snow chrysanthemum on tea markets in the south suddenly soared to several hundred to several thousand yuan per kilogram, with the most expensive reaching over ten thousand yuan.
2. Snow Chrysanthemum Prices Soar: Hidden Crisis and Opportunity
In 2012, cultivation of snow chrysanthemum across ** was frantic, with planting areas exceeding 100,000 mu, ultimately leading to a market collapse. Snow chrysanthemum prices fell from their peak to a trough, selling at around 100 yuan per kilogram at market, while the purchase price dropped to as low as 30 yuan per kilogram…
The cultivation cost of snow chrysanthemum is about 2000 yuan, and the harvest labor cost is about 7000 yuan [picking fee 10 yuan/kg (local labor is severely insufficient, mostly migrant labor, with high costs), fresh yield about 700 kg per mu]. With costs reaching nearly ten thousand yuan, ** growers were left in misery!
Based on the unique health value of snow chrysanthemum and an analysis of the consumer market, prices were bound to stabilize. Fellow traders rushed to purchase large quantities at low prices, shipping out when prices stabilized at year-end, earning profits of over 300%.
3. The Clever Trick to Lower Tianshan Snow Chrysanthemum Costs: Shifting the Production Region
From the details of the snow chrysanthemum market collapse, General Manager Yin Yunfeng discovered a tremendous industrial business opportunity —— shifting the production region to lower costs!
Although many experts, scholars, and fellow professionals were pessimistic about the introduction, General Manager Yin Yunfeng, relying on years of introduction experience and genuine insight into the growth habits of snow chrysanthemum, resolutely decided: this bride will be married!
4. The 2013 One Hundred Mu Experimental Base for Introducing Tianshan Snow Chrysanthemum in Bozhou
At the end of 2012, General Manager Yin led the research and development team in conducting a series of indoor experiments on Tianshan Snow Chrysanthemum, including accelerated growth period simulation, accelerated regional climate adaptability simulation, comparative analysis of soil from different locations, and comparative analysis and simulation of pests and diseases. Overcoming multiple obstacles, in the spring of 2013, this ‘bride-to-be’ finally stepped out of the laboratory and settled into the one hundred mu introduction experimental base in Bozhou.
5. Introduction in Bozhou Succeeds, Yield May Exceed the Place of Origin
After extensive field variety domestication trials, technicians carefully tended to the ‘bride’, allowing the snow chrysanthemum to firmly take root in the fertile soil of Bozhou and grow smoothly and healthily. According to the technicians, after the introduction of snow chrysanthemum to Bozhou, the flowering period advanced by 2 months, with harvesting possible by mid-June, and a new crop can be harvested every 10 days, expected to continue until mid-October. The yield may potentially reach or exceed that of the place of origin.
6. Comparison of the Appearance and Quality of Bozhou Snow Chrysanthemum and ** Snow Chrysanthemum
Whether in color, aroma, taste, or external appearance, it is no different from commercially available snow chrysanthemum. It has a faint medicinal fragrance, the color and mellow richness of aged Pu'er tea, and a very special lingering sweetness…… leaving an endless aftertaste.
Compared with the chrysanthemum tea that people commonly drink (Hangzhou white chrysanthemum), snow chrysanthemum, besides having a stronger flavor, has an extra note of lingering sweetness compared to chrysanthemum. The fragrance enters the throat, spreads slowly, and refreshes the heart and mind.
From a medical perspective, chrysanthemum is sweet, bitter, and cold in nature, while snow chrysanthemum is sweet and warm, making it more suitable for middle-aged and elderly people to drink. Moreover, the volatile oils, total saponins, amino acids, and flavonoids in snow chrysanthemum can resist pathogens and enhance capillary resistance. Among these, the total flavonoid content reaches 12%, far exceeding various other chrysanthemum species.