Tracing the History of Rhubarb in Xining

Rhubarb in Xining is one of the four major Chinese herbal medicines in China. According to historical records, China began to use rhubarb as early as 270 BC, and rhubarb was shipped abroad in BC 144. For hundreds of years, China has been the main exporter of rhubarb in the world. Qinghai rhubarb is an excellent variety of rhubarb in China. Its production history is long, and it is well-known at home and abroad for its good quality, high yield and good curative effect. The maximum annual export volume is 500,000 kg. Historically, Xining has long been a distribution center for rhubarb in Qinghai Province, so Qinghai rhubarb is also called "Xining rhubarb". Rhubarb is a tall perennial herb of Polygonaceae, also known as Huoshen, Jin Mu, Clerodendrum, and Mianzi. Tibetan is called "Junmuzha". Rhubarb grows in high mountains with an altitude of 2000-3500 meters. Common in alpine shrubs and hillside grasslands, they like cool and humid climate and loose and fertile soil. The stem is upright and hollow, the nodes are swollen, smooth and hairless, and the leaves are like castor beans. It germinates in April, germinates in June, blooms in July and bears seeds in September. There are seven kinds of rhubarb in Qinghai, among which the most precious is the one with high yield: one is palmately-leaved rhubarb, with a stem height of 105-3 meters and green and white panicles in summer; The other is Rheum tanguticum, which is a variety of Rheum palmatum. Its leaves are deeply divided into chicken feet, also called chicken feet rhubarb, and its flowers are pale yellow. These two kinds of rhubarb are in Guoluo, Yushu, Hainan and Haibei.