Introduced Crops · FFET10412
Chili pepper
A pungent fruit from the Americas, used fresh or made into chili sauce, oil, powder and pickled peppers.
Maize, sweet potato, potato, peanut, chili and other crops that came to China later.
Chili peppers are the fruits of Capsicum plants and originated in the Americas. They are used fresh, dried or pickled, and processed into chili sauce, chili oil and chili powder. Chili cultivation is reported in Guizhou and Hoxud County in Xinjiang.
What
Chili peppers are the fruits of Capsicum plants. They originated in the Americas and are used fresh or processed as food ingredients.2,3
When
Chili peppers originated in the Americas and reached East Asia by sea in the late 16th century; the specific route into China lacks support from a dated primary text. An early account describes chili as an ornamental plant with white flowers, red fruit and pungency. The page opened does not date that entry, and the often-cited year 1591 comes from a later account, so it is not a verified earliest date here.1,2,3
Where
Guizhou is a large reported growing area: a January 2025 report gives its 2023 chili planting area as 5.2 million mu. Hoxud County in Xinjiang had about 110,000 mu in 2023, showing chili grown as a processing crop beyond Guizhou.4,5
How
Chilies can be used fresh, dried or pickled, and made into chili sauce, chili oil, chili powder and pickled peppers.2,3
Why
Heat and red color are distinctive features of chili peppers, and an early account also appreciates their ornamental value. A report on Hoxud County notes the high red-pigment content of its chilies.1,5
Impact and influence
The same report says Guizhou's 2023 chili output was more than 7.82 million metric tons, worth 29 billion yuan; it names no official source. Another 2023 report records an expected output of about 72,000 metric tons in Hoxud County, Xinjiang, with 15 processing firms making products including chili granules, chili powder and pigment.4,5