The jalape?o pepper originated in Mexico, where it was first planted by the Indians. it was introduced to Europe in the 16th century and to China in the 17th century. Pepper into China has two paths, one is the famous Silk Road, the second is through the Strait of Malacca into South China. Peppers originated in Mexico and were first cultivated by the Indians; they were introduced to Europe in the 16th century and to China in the 17th century. Peppers have only been in China for about 400 years, but have become the most abundant variety in the world. There is a pepper belt in China covering Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Jiangxi and Shanxi. In fact, there are many pepper lovers outside of the aforementioned regions. There are two paths by which peppers were introduced to China. One is the famous Silk Road, which entered Xinjiang, Gansu and Shaanxi from West Asia and was first cultivated in the northwest. The second was through the Strait of Malacca into South China, where it was planted in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Hunan in the south, and then gradually expanded to the whole country, almost a blank area without chili peppers. During the Qianlong period, chili peppers were consumed in large quantities in Guizhou, followed by Zhenxiong in Yunnan and Chenzhou in Hunan, which are adjacent to Guizhou. In the twelfth year of the Qianlong period (1747), the consumption of chili peppers was recorded on the island of Taiwan Province. After the Jiaqing (1796-1820), four provinces, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan, and Jiangxi, were recorded as starting to "grow (chili peppers) as a vegetable". During the Daoguang period (1821-1850), northern Guizhou had "its own chili peppers for every meal". During the Tongzhi period (1862-1874), Guizhou people "ate" sea peppers in all seasons. The end of the Qing dynasty in Guizhou popular corn rice, dishes more than bean flowers, that is, the sea pepper as a dipping water soaked salt blocks, somewhat like today's Sichuan Fushun bean flowers.