Dingxi eyes TCM growth through Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cooperation

Dingxi in Gansu province, known as a major production area for traditional Chinese medicine herbs, is enhancing cooperation with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to further develop its traditional Chinese medicine industry. The city highlighted its rich resources, industrial foundation and development potential at an investment promotion event held in Beijing on Friday.

The event aimed to connect Dingxi's high-quality medicinal herb resources with innovation platforms and leading enterprises in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, helping transform its resources into new drivers for industrial growth and economic development.

"Gansu is a major production area for authentic medicinal herbs and one of the birthplaces of traditional Chinese medicine culture, with strong resource advantages and industrial foundations," said Wang Zhenhua, deputy director of the Gansu Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Located in central Gansu province, where the Loess Plateau, the western Qinling Mountains and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau meet, Dingxi has developed unique conditions for producing high-quality medicinal herbs. Data from the city government show that Dingxi is home to 988 species of wild medicinal plants, including 135 of the 363 major varieties identified in a national survey.

The city has become one of China's leading regions for medicinal herb production. Its planting area has remained above 2.2 million mu (about 147,000 hectares), ranking first among prefecture-level cities nationwide in terms of planting area and output. Its three signature herbs, Angelica sinensis, astragalus and Codonopsis pilosula, account for about 60 percent, 40 percent and 20 percent of the national cultivation areas, respectively.

"Dingxi has developed a large-scale traditional Chinese medicine industry with a complete industrial chain," said Wang Jianping, a candidate for vice-mayor of Dingxi. "In 2025, the city's traditional Chinese medicine industrial chain exceeded 55.3 billion yuan (about $8.1 billion), becoming an important pillar for local economic development and rural revitalization. Its annual processing capacity reached 600,000 metric tons, while the output value of above-designated-size enterprises in the sector totaled 12.1 billion yuan."

To promote high-quality growth, Dingxi has built standardized cultivation bases covering 420,000 mu and implemented a development model linking leading enterprises, cooperatives and farmers.

During the event, the Beijing-Dingxi Traditional Chinese Medicine Operation Center was unveiled, providing a new platform to promote Dingxi's medicinal products in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei market.

"In 2018, we established a first-phase traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces production facility in Dingxi," said Long Huanming, vice-president of Tianjin Chase Sun Pharmaceutical Co Ltd. "The investment reflects the strong complementarity between our development needs and the city's rich medicinal herb resources, bringing mutual benefits. In 2025, through raw material procurement, we helped nearly 4,000 farming households achieve stable income growth."

Building on such cooperation, Dingxi also introduced investment opportunities in standardized cultivation, storage and logistics, processing, biopharmaceuticals and healthcare tourism. The city aims to work with research institutions and enterprises in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to accelerate innovation, upgrade its traditional Chinese medicine industry and build a national model area for its inheritance and innovation.