Anguo has been known as China's "medicinal herbs capital" for over 1,000 years.

Thanks to the encouragement of the local government, over 70,000 rural families are engaged in planting and processing the herbs, bringing an annual income of 36.64 million yuan (about US$4.40million).

Meanwhile, local experts have been employed in improving the quality of the herbs so they can compete on the international market.

Currently the city grows over 300 kinds of medicinal herbs on more than 8,666 hectares of cultivated land, and produces 25 million kilograms of medicinal herbs a year.

Anguo herbal products are mainly exported to Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), west European countries, and Southeast Asian nations. Herbs from Anguo make up 70 percent of exports to the ROK market.

Medicinal herbs contribute one-third of the city's revenue and local farmers' incomes, according to official figures.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2002)