Rice as a grain, its main kinds, and the plain rice and congee cooked from it.
Xiaozhan rice is a japonica rice named for Xiaozhan town in Tianjin's Jinnan District, grown as 1 crop a year over about 170 days and soft, sticky, and sweet when cooked (2023 report). Tianjin Xiaozhan rice received an agricultural product geographical indication registration certificate; this information comes from a May 22, 2020, report, and the underlying Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Announcement No. 290 and its date were not verified.
What
Xiaozhan rice is a japonica rice named for Xiaozhan town in Tianjin's Jinnan District. Its grains are white with a slight green tint; cooked rice is soft, sticky, and sweet (April 25, 2023, report).2,3
When
Xiaozhan rice yields 1 crop a year over about 170 days; local river water declined in the 1970s and began recovering in 2012 (2023 report). Production peaked in the mid-1960s; after water sources dried up, some rice fields were converted to corn and sorghum. Replanting trials began in 2017 (October 12, 2023, report). These retrospective accounts do not establish an origin date for Xiaozhan rice.2,3
Where
Xiaozhan rice is grown in Xiaozhan town in Tianjin's Jinnan District and along the Machang Reduction River. Cultivation has spread from Jinnan to other agricultural districts in Tianjin (2020 report).1,3
How
Some fields combine rice cultivation with crab farming, covering 29,000 mu in Jinnan District in 2022 (2023 report). Xiaozhan rice is cooked as rice and also used in rice cakes and baijiu (October 20, 2025, report).2,4
Why
Local daytime and nighttime temperatures differ greatly. Xiaozhan rice has white grains with a slight green tint and is soft, sticky, and sweet when cooked (2023 report).2
Impact and influence
The area planted with Xiaozhan rice in Jinnan District increased from about 18,000 mu in 2016 to about 57,000 mu in 2022 (April 25, 2023, report). Tianjin Xiaozhan rice received an agricultural product geographical indication registration certificate under Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Announcement No. 290; this information comes from a May 22, 2020, report, and the announcement text and date were not verified.1,2