Thriving tea industry brings wealth to locals in mountainous county of China’s Henan

Tongbai county of central China’s Henan Province has established tea plantations on unused land in the mountains while developing a burgeoning tea industry, bringing wealth to local residents.

With favorable conditions for tea trees to thrive, Tongbai is now home to 145,000 mu (about 9,666.7 hectares) of organic tea plantations, over 100 tea enterprises and more than 50,000 people working in the tea industry. The total tea output of the county hit 3,100 tonnes in 2021, with an output value of 850 million yuan (about $133.5 million).

Farmers pick tea leaves at a tea plantation in Tongbai county, central China’s Henan Province. (Photo/Xinhua)

By the end of 2021, the tea industry had generated wealth for over 1,700 households from 15 towns and townships in the county. Villagers whose tea trees have grown for more than three years earned at least 5,000 yuan per mu on average, and will continue to profit from the industry for the next decades to come.

“My family has 80 mu of tea plantations, and produces over 50 kilograms of dry tea leaves per mu a year,” introduced Cheng Chunsheng, one of the major tea growers. Cheng also established a tea cooperative, which provides job opportunities such as picking tea leaves and plantation management for local villagers.

The county has also attached great importance to the use of technology. It has invited experts to work on research and development focused on black tea, as well as having launched training sessions for tea growers and cultivating a number of tea processing workers. The county has also partnered with the Tea Research Institute (TRI) of the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences to help local tea enterprises to explore more tea varieties.

Moreover, the county has enhanced its brand building efforts and has so far cultivated two major tea brands. “Consumers’ interest in our tea comes from our brand image,” introduced an official from the commerce bureau of Tongbai. On the recommendation of the bureau, tea products produced in Tongbai appeared at the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai last year. With the support of its brand building efforts, Tongbai tea has been able to see its products reach many countries abroad starting in 2016, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, with a total export value of $144 million at present.

“Our county will further carry forward tea culture, and boost the tea industry through technology to make the industry a driving force for the economy of our county,” said Jia Songxiao, Party secretary of Tongbai.