Little leaves of tea become big business in county of China's Yunnan

Recently, tea growers have been busy picking tea leaves at an ancient tea plantation in Bingdao village, Mengku township, Shuangjiang Lahu, Wa, Bulang and Dai Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

With over 500 years of history of planting tea trees, the village is famous for its high-quality Pu'er tea, a deep-brewed tea with a sweet aroma. In 2021, the village achieved a dry raw tea output of 805 tonnes, with the output value reaching 420 million yuan (about $58.5 million).

However, tea leaves didn't bring wealth to locals in the past. "More than 20 years ago, 0.5 kilograms of tea leaves were worth less than 1 yuan," said Jiang Ping, a villager who now owns a tea factory and a restaurant. Jiang opened her restaurant in 1997 but encountered difficulties running it for years.

A villager picks tea leaves in Bingdao village, Mengku township, Shuangjiang Lahu, Wa, Bulang and Dai Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (People's Daily Online/Hu Zunhui)

Things began to change in 2007, one year after the village's tea won a gold prize at the tea expo held in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. The prize pushed up the price of tea leaves in the village as well as several other places in Shuangjiang county with premium tea resources and rich tea culture, bringing fame to the county.

As the core production area of tea leaves in Shuangjiang county, Mengku township attracted numerous tea dealers. Back then, Jiang's family, like many other families in the town, began to plant, process and sell tea leaves. In addition, Jiang's restaurant enjoyed brisk business thanks to crowds of tea dealers coming in from outside the town. Now, her restaurant is the biggest one in the town.

Photo shows an ancient tea tree in Bingdao village, Mengku township, Shuangjiang Lahu, Wa, Bulang and Dai Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (People's Daily Online/Hu Zunhui)

The tea industry has not only fattened the wallets of tea growers in Bingdao village, but also given a boost to the development of Mengku township. Nowadays, the town is home to many homestays, hotels, restaurants and tea factories.

In 2014, Jiang's son Yang Tingzhen took over her tea factory and registered a tea brand, with the aim of raising the added value of their tea leaves. Drawing on the experiences from nearby tea plants, Yang decided to grow organic tea.

Photo shows the construction site of a "tea town" in Mengku township, Shuangjiang Lahu, Wa, Bulang and Dai Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (People's Daily Online/Hu Zunhui)

For Shuangjiang county, protecting its tea resources and sound ecology is the key to the sustainable development of its tea industry. In recent years, ancient tea trees in the county have come with QR codes, which people can scan to get all kinds of information about these trees. To reduce sewage and garbage pollution in tea plantations in Bingdao village, nearby villagers have been relocated to a "tea town" not far from the original site of the village. The county has also integrated the tea industry with tourism and developed tea-themed scenic spots.

"A new highway linking Lincang city and the 'tea town' in Bingdao village is under construction. Once completed, the highway will cut the travel time between the two places from about two hours to some 20 minutes," said Yang, who is optimistic about the future of the "tea town."

Shuangjiang county has also built tea industrial parks, enhanced brand building for its tea, and attracted enterprises that can drive the development of the tea industry. The county aims to build state-level standardized organic tea production bases covering over 300,000 mu (20,000 hectares) by the end of 2023.

Photo shows Bingdao Lake in Mengku township, Shuangjiang Lahu, Wa, Bulang and Dai Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (People's Daily Online/Hu Zunhui)