The Fourth China Ningxia Gouqi Festival will be held from Aug. 8 to 10 in northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a major Muslim-inhabited area in China, the organizing committee said in Beijing Friday.

Ningxia is the leading production base of Gouqi, the fruit of Chinese wolfberry which has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine or as a tonic element.

The festival, jointly sponsored by the State Forestry Administration and the Ningxia regional government, is aimed at expanding Ningxia's Gouqi market and promoting the growth of Gouqi-related industries, Zhang Laiwu, deputy chairman of the regional government, said at a press conference.

More than Chinese and foreign 500 businessmen, company representatives and scholars are expected to attend the three-day event, which consists of trade fairs, a symposium on the development of the related industries and a photo exhibition, said Han Shanning, director of the regional forestry department,who is also in charge of the festival organization.

As the original producing place, Ningxia boasts a 600-year history of planting Chinese wolfberry trees. So far, the region has more than 21,300 hectares of land grown with the plant, producing more than 40,000 tons of dried fruit a year, accounting for 26 percent and 42 percent, respectively, of the country's total, said Zhang.

In addition, Chinese wolfberry fruit as well as the products made from it are not only very "hot" in China, but also have been exported to more than 10 countries, including the United States, Japan and Singapore. The combined annual output value of related industries exceeds 1 billion yuan (120 million US dollars) a year.

According to ancient Chinese medicinal books, Chinese wolfberry fruit, crowned as a "red diamond," helps to maintain the normal function of people's liver and kidney, drop blood pressure and improve eyesight.

Results of modern scientific research by Chinese scientists show that the fruit contains many amino acids such as enzyme and lactic acid, and 17 kinds of trace elements such as calcium, iron,zinc and manganese needed by the human body.

Source:Xinhua