We can see descriptions of the origin of Astragalus. At that time, the best origin of Scutellaria baicalensis was southeastern Gansu Province. Even after many years, Longxi, Gansu Province is still the origin of high-quality astragalus. It is a famous city with a history of thousands of years and is known as the "Medicine Capital of Thousand Years". Seventy to eighty percent of the well-known astragalus production is west of Longshan.

Longxi, Gansu Province, a famous city with a history of thousands of years, is known as the "Medicine Capital of Thousand Years". Seventy to eighty percent of the total output of more than 30 varieties of well-known astragalus, dangshen, skullcap, licorice, isatis root, etc. is located in the west of Longshan.

There are many wild medicinal materials, and the mountains and forests are densely covered with trees. Astragalus root, dangshen, wild skullcap, wild dwarf flowers, etc. can be seen everywhere on the roadside ridges; plantain, buggrass, schizonepeta, wolfberry, etc. can be found in every corner of the mountains and fields.

In September, the September chrysanthemums all over the mountains and plains dye the mountains and rivers yellow and exude the fragrance of medicine.

The reason why Chinese medicinal materials are everywhere in Gansu is that my grandfather told a legend, which is mysterious yet lifelike.

It is said that in ancient times, the King of Medicine was carrying a medicine box on his back to practice medicine and make a living. When he was passing through Longxi, Gansu Province, he became very thirsty and happened to see a spring on the roadside.

Yao Wang jumped over and drank a lot of water. He sat next to him and rested. At this time, he saw a snake swimming into the water and doing laps before disappearing. Yao Wang was about to get up and walk when he saw a passerby coming over and asking for a drink of water.

The Medicine King thought: She must have a stomachache after drinking the water where the spring snake swam. I just happened to sell him some medicine to earn some money for traveling expenses, so he sat next to him and waited for passers-by to finish drinking the water.

The passerby over there drank the water, stood up, took out a few cloves of garlic from his trouser pocket, ate it, and left without any sign of stomachache. The Medicine King was very surprised and quickly opened the medicine book to check the uses of garlic. He saw that garlic has the effect of detoxifying hundreds of poisons. The Medicine King was very angry.

I thought to myself that all the Gansu people are miracle doctors, how can I still practice medicine and sell medicine? In a fit of anger, he sprinkled the medicine in the medicine box all over the hillside and returned home.

As a result, after being moistened by rain, all the Chinese herbal medicines spread by Yaowang took root and sprouted in the second year, and various Chinese herbal medicines grew everywhere on the mountain.

It is said that this is the origin of Longxi’s thousand-year medicine capital. Although it is a legend, it also shows that Gansu has a long history of Chinese herbal medicine, and its reputation as a thousand-year-old medicinal city is well-deserved.

Due to the massive increase in demand in recent years, farmers are now planting medicinal materials in large areas, and the yield and quality are far ahead of other producing areas.

Famous books all have records of their efficacy:

1 In the "Compendium of Materia Medica" written by Tao Hongjing, a great pharmacologist of the Liang Dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it is stated: "Astragalus was the first to come out of Longxi, with a yellow-white color, It has a sweet taste and is rare today."

2 "Treatise on Medical Properties" of the Tang Dynasty said: "If it is weak and the guest is cold, use Longxi Astragalus." .

It can be explained that before the Tang Dynasty, the production areas of astragalus were mainly in the northwest region, and Longxi, Gansu Province had the largest output and the best quality.

Astragalus people in Longxi, Gansu have won various honors

(1) In 2001, Longxi County was named the "Hometown of Astragalus in China" by the Specialty Hometown Recommendation and Promotion Committee of the Chinese Agricultural Society. In 2003, "Longxi Astragalus" obtained the registration and certification of origin mark from the State Administration of Quality Supervision, and received national geographical indication product protection.

(2) In 2017, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued an announcement officially naming Longxi County, Gansu Province as the "National Well-known Brand Demonstration Area for the Traditional Chinese Medicine (Astragalus, Codonopsis) Industry".

(3) In 2017, "Longxi Astragalus" passed the review of the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and was approved as a "China Famous Trademark".