China has had a saying since ancient times that "oranges born in Huainan are oranges, and oranges born in Huaibei are oranges". Citrus is mainly grown in southern China. At present, citrus is cultivated in southern China 19 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government). Among them, Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Chongqing are the most important producing areas, and the climate in these areas is suitable for citrus cultivation, so they constitute the dominant producing areas of citrus in China. According to statistics, the total citrus output in these nine regions accounts for more than 95% of the total citrus output in China.

In order to better develop China's citrus industry, according to the resource endowment, market location, industrial base and other conditions, the Ministry of Agriculture compiled "China's citrus superior regional layout planning 2008-20 15". According to this plan, China should focus on developing "four belts and one base" in the future citrus development, namely, the citrus belt in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the citrus belt in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, the citrus belt in southern Jiangxi-southern Hunan-northern Guangxi and the citrus belt in western Hubei-western Hunan. Characteristic citrus production bases include Lingnan late-maturing wide-peel citrus, Nanfeng tangerine, Yunnan extra-early-maturing citrus, Danjiangkou Reservoir citrus, Sichuan-Yunnan lemon base and so on. Citrus planted in these areas have their own characteristics and will be the main base for the development of citrus industry in China in the future.