Abstract: “Tuji” (China’ s native chicken) serves as an essential symbol of traditional Chinese agricultural culture and represents a core category within the premium poultry market. Its industrial development is of paramount importance for safeguarding poultry genetic resources, propelling rural industrial revitalization, and aligning with the trends of consumer upgrading. However, the high-quality development of this industry has long been hindered by challenges such as the ambiguous connotation of the “Tuji” concept, the absence of definitional standards, and lagging industrial governance. Drawing upon a multidimensional perspective encompassing conceptual history, industrial history, and institutional analysis, this paper systematically delineated the evolutionary trajectory of the “Tuji” concept from an agrarian context to a modern market economy framework. It clarified the conceptual boundaries distinguishing “Tuji” from “local chicken breeds” and “yellow-feathered broilers,” and argued that the Geographical Indication (GI) system provided a comprehensive and effective solution to the definitional dilemma of “Tuji” . Building on a holistic assessment of the multifaceted genetic, economic, and ecological values, this study positions the industry as a typical case of the high-quality development of Chinese agriculture. Furthermore, it provided an in-depth analysis of critical institutional bottlenecks encountered during the industry’ s modernization transformation, including the imbalance between the conservation and utilization of poultry germplasm resources, delayed standardization and branding initiatives, and the lack of market regulation and policy synergy. Ultimately, the paper proposes a sustainable development framework for the “Tuji” industry characterized by “conceptual standardization, industrial ecologization, and governance modernization” . It further recommends the establishment of an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental collaborative governance mechanism involving multiple stakeholders, thereby offering theoretical insights and practical pathways for the modernization of the “Tuji” industry and the high-quality advancement of specialty agricultural product sectors.