Zigui Navel oranges— Historical origins

Historical origins

Zigui naval oranges have a cultivation history of over 2,000 years. However, for a long time, Zigui had little connection with the "King of Citrus," the naval orange. Before the 1970s and 80s, Zigui orange farmers mainly grew ordinary citrus fruits, which were not well-known in China.

On November 8, 1962, after conducting thorough research on citrus production in Zigui, Professor Zhang Wencai, known as the "Father of Citrus," proposed that Zigui's climate and soil were suitable for growing naval oranges, and that developing naval oranges had great potential. He suggested that Zigui's citrus production should achieve the "three-fold" goals of regionalizing improved varieties, standardizing quality, and commercializing the fruit. From then on, Professor Zhang visited Zigui almost every year to teach farmers planting techniques and cultivate new varieties.

In 1967, Professor Zhang Wencai, impacted by the Cultural Revolution, secretly came to Zigui with his student Zhou Fu. They guided farmers to build the first underground ventilated storage cellar in the country, which enabled citrus fruits to be preserved for more than four months, with a good fruit rate of over 90%.

In 1968, following Professor Zhang Wencai's suggestion, Zigui County built 52 storage cellars, enabling Zigui to find a good way to preserve and sell citrus fruits.

In 1978, after the state approved the establishment of a 20,000-mu naval orange export base in Zigui, Zhang Wencai introduced 12 superior American varieties to Zigui, thus establishing the 20,000-mu naval orange export base. The main naval orange varieties in Zigui today, Robertson and Newhall, were introduced by Mr. Zhang and successfully trialed before being widely promoted.

In 1985, a large number of citrus trees died in Lujia Mountain Village, Zigui County. Upon learning of this, 81-year-old Zhang Wencai rushed to Zigui overnight. Under his guidance, the large-scale outbreak of citrus disease was brought under control.

In 1993, through the introduction of Zhang Wencai, farmer Peng Hongguo was admitted as a member of the China Citrus Association. In 1994, fruit grower Xiang Simo was awarded the title of Senior Technician in the first batch of farmer technical title evaluations in the province. In Zigui, Mr. Zhang Wencai personally trained hundreds and thousands of such naval orange "local experts." Today, Zigui farmers' naval orange planting techniques are the best in the country.

In 1995, Zigui was named the "Hometown of Naval Oranges." The people of Zigui say this was thanks to Mr. Zhang, whom they respectfully call "Old Man Orange." "Old Man Orange" helped Zigui achieve its first major leap forward in the citrus industry.

On February 19, 1996, at the age of 92, Zhang Wencai wrote his last letter to the Zigui County Party Committee, suggesting that "fruit farmers be organized to develop modern large-scale agriculture that integrates production, supply, sales, transportation, storage and processing."

In 1998, after the 94-year-old Mr. Zhang passed away, the orange growers spontaneously erected a statue in his honor, bestowing upon him the same treatment as Qu Yuan, the "Ancestor of Poetry." After the passing of the "Old Man of Oranges," his student, Professor Deng Xixun, took up the mantle. At this time, a large-scale naval orange industry was emerging in southern Jiangxi, and with China's imminent accession to the WTO, Zigui naval oranges faced a double attack from both southern Jiangxi naval oranges and imported naval oranges.

Deng Xixun advocates that Zigui naval oranges must leverage their strengths, avoid direct competition, vigorously develop high-quality new and special varieties, and build the Zigui naval orange brand. To address the issue of the overly concentrated ripening period of naval oranges and avoid the competitive pressure brought by concentrated market entry, Professor Deng Xixun, combining his research on "Innovative Breeding and Promotion of Superior Citrus Varieties," has been breeding and promoting early-maturing and late-maturing high-quality varieties in Zigui.

In 1996, Professor Deng Xixun successfully grafted two virus-free red-fleshed naval orange branches imported from abroad into Zigui County after years of cultivation, and then promoted the technology.

Around 2000, naval oranges began to "rise" in the plains and hilly areas of Jiangxi and Hunan. Their mechanized and large-scale planting made their costs and prices much lower than those of Zigui, and Zigui naval oranges gradually fell into a disadvantage.

In 2010, Zhou Gongshou, a fruit farmer from Group 5 of Wangjiating Village in Zigui County, bought more than 100 citrus seedlings and grafted late-maturing naval oranges (Lunyu) onto the hillside behind his house. In Zhou Gongshou's premium orchard, reporters observed that advanced agricultural technologies such as micro-irrigation and mountain orchard rail transport systems, while protecting soil and water and saving labor, resulted in a 95% rate of high-quality fruit.

In November 2017, the "Gongxiao e-Home Zigui E-commerce Town" was launched. It attracted 37 local e-commerce companies and 18 physical stores, and established long-term partnerships with 6 leading agricultural enterprises and 17 agricultural cooperatives. E-commerce sales have shortened the distance between Zigui naval oranges and consumers, making same-day and next-day delivery a reality. Data shows that the sales volume of Zigui naval oranges through e-commerce and micro-business increased from 100 million yuan in 2013 to 1.6 billion yuan in 2017. E-commerce sales now account for half of the total sales volume.

In 2025, Yichang's citrus export volume and value reached a record high. Throughout the year, a total of 194,000 tons of citrus were exported, with a value of 1.09 billion RMB, representing year-on-year growth of 14% and 7%, respectively.