China Rural Vitalization: Governments, companies, scholars jointly explore tea industry development in Jingmai Mountain

Chinese government officials, companies and scholars have gathered in Shenzhen to jointly explore development of the tea industry and rural vitalization in Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er City in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

A brainstorming session was held in Shenzhen – looking for new breakthroughs in the tea industry in southwest China's Pu'er City.

In the heart of the region where tea was born thousands of years ago, Pu'er is home to nearly 300,000 residents, most involved in some way with tea-growing and tea-making.

The tea industry is the backbone of economic development, healthy consumption, stable employment and rural revitalization in the region.

LIU JIHONG, Party Secretary, Lancang Lahu Autonomous County "In 2022, the Lancang Lahu Autonomous County had tea gardens covering an area of 436,000 mu (around 29,000 hectares), and the tea industry achieved a comprehensive output value of 6.19 billion yuan, around 900 million USD, up 29.4%."

YANG ZHONGXING, Deputy Mayor, Pu'er Municipal People's Government "Tea from Jingmai Mountain in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County is well known for its excellent quality and mellow taste. However, shortcomings in intensive processing, packaging and brand marketing have been hindering the development of tea industry."

At the forum, Jingmai Mountain was proposed as a pilot tea area of "rural vitalization", by establishing unified standards, integrating large brands, and expanding markets.

Authorities in Lancang aim to increase the output value of the tea industry to 10 billion yuan, around 1.4 billion USD to truly, as they say, "make local people rich with tea leaves".

LIU ZHONGHUA, Academician, Chinese Academy of Engineering "With the help of the expert team from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, we aim to increase the income of farmers, the efficiency of enterprises and the tax income of the country, and improve our value chain through technological innovation, so as to transform resource advantages into economic benefits, and realize rural revitalization and common prosperity."

The Lancang Lahu Autonomous County was lifted out of poverty in November 2020. With the joint efforts from government, and industrial leader, the county is expected to embark on the path of rapid and high-quality development.

Source: CGTN; Photos provided by Lahu Lancang; Editing by Mo Yingyi