On October 18, Wang Xiaoping, Deputy Director of the Gansu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, spoke about the booming popularity of Tianshui’s spicy hotpot this year. He noted that Tianjin and Shandong have taken the lead in market expansion, successfully establishing over 40 “Tianshui Spicy Hotpot” franchises in these regions. This initiative has significantly boosted sales of local Gansu agricultural products, such as Gangu chili peppers and Dingxi wide rice noodles, resulting in a staggering tenfold increase in trade volume compared to last year.
During a recent press conference held by the Gansu Provincial Government’s Information Office, it was revealed that eastern provinces and central supportive units, including Tianjin and Shandong, have helped Gansu sell over 6.964 billion yuan worth of local specialty products this year.
Wang Xiaoping elaborated that Gansu is collaborating with partner provinces to enhance brand development, product research, and sales. They are leveraging the advantages of funding, talent, technology, and market resources offered by Tianjin, Shandong, and the central support units to cultivate and strengthen brands such as Lanzhou lily, Jingning apples, and Dongxiang tribute sheep. Notably, the “Gansu Flavor” brand has been ranked first on the Top 100 Chinese Regional Agricultural Brand Influence Index for three consecutive years.
Gansu is one of the main production areas for highland summer vegetables and is also suitable for growing edible mushrooms such as shiitake, morels, and black fungus. The term “Gansu Flavor” refers to high-quality, standardized, and traceable local agricultural products that highlight the province’s unique advantages.
Wang noted that in recent years, Gansu has actively conducted campaigns like “Gansu Flavor into Tianjin” and “Gansu Flavor into Shandong.” This includes establishing 45 specialty product zones and logistics centers in Jinan and surrounding areas, attracting over 180 local companies. Tianjin has supported the construction of more than 90 facilities for cold chain logistics, e-commerce live streaming, and marketplace developments, while Shandong has introduced large logistics parks like Haier Rihong and coordinated the launch of cold chain rail-sea transport for potatoes, facilitating connections between Western-origin products and the vast Eastern market.
Zhang Fuwang, Deputy Chief Commander of Tianjin’s assistance to Gansu and a member of the Gansu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, highlighted that in the first three quarters of the year, Tianjin has boosted seven industry clusters in Gangu County, including apparel, food, and the “Gansu Flavor” meat sheep and Jingning apples. This support has helped “Pingliang Red Beef” become a public brand worth over 10 billion yuan in Gansu and has earned its place on the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Finance’s list of advantageous and characteristic industry clusters.
Zhang emphasized Tianjin’s commitment to guiding leading new retail enterprises, trade associations, and planting and breeding bases in exploring innovative production and sales connection models. This includes setting up “Gansu Flavor” display and negotiation centers, and promoting the integration of “Gansu Flavor” with “Tianjin Agricultural Specialties” to create a new branding identity.
Statistics show that in the first three quarters of this year, Tianjin facilitated stable collaborations between major enterprises like Huaxi Huitong, Jin Nonghui, and Jin Cheng Weikang with “Gansu Flavor,” implementing a total of 49 consumer assistance projects and hosting over 100 assistance activities, achieving 3.845 billion yuan in consumer assistance funds.
Li Jiangtao, head of the Shandong support group for Gansu and a member of the Gansu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, shared that Shandong has launched an action to promote “Gansu Products into Shandong,” helping sell Gansu agricultural specialty products worth 2.941 billion yuan. He also mentioned innovative initiatives like “Shandong Enterprises Enter Gansu,” which have organized investment negotiation events for four consecutive years, with participation from over 670 Shandong companies and a total of 134 signed projects amounting to 26.423 billion yuan.
