The 14th Municipal Party Congress proposed systematically advancing the growth of the Liubao Tea industry, aiming for its comprehensive output value to account for half of Guangxi's tea industry.
From 2021 to 2023, the city's tea plantation area grew from less than 130,000 mu (approximately 86.7 square kilometers) to over 300,000 mu (approximately 200 square kilometers). Annual production of Liubao tea increased from about 20,000 tons to 35,000 tons, and the comprehensive output value Rose from about 11 billion yuan to approximately 20 billion yuan.
In the first half of this year, the city's ecological tea plantation area exceeded 400,000 mu (approximately 266.7 square kilometers) for the first time. There are nearly 500 tea cooperatives, with more than 310 administrative villages participating in the Liubao tea industry, benefiting around 240,000 villagers. “Wuzhou Liubao Tea” ranked 13th on the list of “Top 20 Regional Public Brands in Chinese Tea for 2024,” with a brand value of 4.973 billion yuan, achieving its best historical ranking.
The city continues to carry out intensive actions for the construction of ecological tea plantations. In the first half of this year, the city's ecological tea plantation area reached 409,500 mu. This image shows the scenic tea mountains in Dazhong Village, Liubao Town, Cangwu County, providing ideal conditions for the development of tea tourism integration projects. Photo by He Liu
Liubao tea leaves can be harvested all year round, especially during spring and autumn.
With the approach of the beginning of autumn, it is the perfect time for autumn tea. In Qinyi Liubao Tea Industry Cooperative Base located in Siliu Village, Liubao Town, Cangwu County, machines hum as they operate. Local tea farmers deliver freshly picked autumn tea here. The fresh tea leaves undergo withering through machinery before being transferred to automatic kneading machines. Multiple tea-making processes use automated machinery that simulates manual operations, leaving both tea farmers and visiting tea merchants in awe.
In recent years, our city has kept in mind President Xi Jinping's earnest instructions to grow the tea industry, focusing on “three origins and six teas,” vigorously promoting the full-chain development of the Liubao tea industry. The city's tea industry presents a positive trend of robust sales, rising prices, and rapid growth.
Playing a Role in Linking Farmers and Enriching Them
“This spring had more rain than usual, resulting in lower Spring Tea production compared to last year. After July, the autumn tea grew well, and we plan to increase the production of autumn tea.” Tan Aiyun, a representative inheritor at the provincial level of the intangible cultural heritage of Liubao tea-making skills and head of Qinyi Liubao Tea Industry Cooperative, provides tea tree planting services and tea-making technical guidance to tea farmers. She also helps solve the tea leaf acquisition issue through the “cooperative + orders + tea farmers” model, ensuring peace of mind for tea farmers. Currently, the cooperative has about 300 members, each with an average annual income of about 50,000 yuan, radiating and driving employment in tea cultivation for more than 300 nearby villagers.
In recent years, the tea plantation area of the Qinyi Liubao Tea Cooperative has been growing steadily. “I personally manage a tea plantation of 900 mu, mainly organic tea gardens and some innovative experiments. The cooperative's tea garden covers about 7,000 to 8,000 mu,” says Tan Aiyun. Over the past three years, the sales volume of the two types of Liubao tea produced by the cooperative has been increasing continuously, with an average annual increase in tea production of 20%.
From traditional bamboo trays for drying fresh leaves to introducing withering machines for quick drying of leaf surfaces, from hand kneading to the operation of 12 automatic kneading machines… the experience of Qinyi Liubao Tea in adhering to tradition while innovating and growing is similar to that of many other Liubao tea cooperatives and tea enterprises in our city.
Tan Benxu, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Municipal Tea Industry Development Bureau, introduced that the city continues to carry out intensive actions for the construction of ecological tea plantations. In the first half of this year, the city's ecological tea plantation area reached 409,500 mu, an increase of 28.28% compared to the same period in 2023. Our city fully plays the role of the Liubao tea industry in linking farmers and enriching them, constantly optimizing the policy environment. From 2021 to now, the “Three-Year Action Plan for the Development of Wuzhou Liubao Tea Industry” has been updated to its second “three-year” phase, providing strong policy support for the high-quality development of the Liubao tea industry, achieving transformation and upgrades, and promoting farmer income and wealth. Currently, there are 71 tea plantations above 100 mu in production across the city, mainly promoting the acquisition of tea buds at guaranteed prices through the “order tea garden” model. The “talented individuals + workshops + tea farmers” model is used to promote farmer income through product-sales connection and profit-sharing.
Building a Wuzhou Brand Matrix
“Wu Yan Talks About Tea” is a Douyin (TikTok) channel specially opened by Wu Yan, president of the Municipal Tea Industry Chamber of Commerce and chairman of Wuzhou Tianyu Tea Industry Co., Ltd., for the promotion of Liubao Tea culture. Since its launch in August 2021, the account has been consistently updated, providing a window for netizens to learn about Liubao tea culture. In recent years, the number of members of the Municipal Tea Industry Chamber of Commerce has grown from originally about 20 people to more than 230, nearly ten times larger. Well-known Liubao tea enterprise leaders such as Shi Rufe and Xu Xiaomin have promoted Liubao tea culture through online platforms.
To further expand the “circle of friends” of Liubao tea and enhance its reputation, Wu Yan led the Municipal Tea Industry Chamber of Commerce to cooperate with the French Asia-Hua Trade Federation. In April, Wuzhou Liubao Tea entered France via the China-Europe freight train for the first time, giving viewers of the 2024 Paris Olympics the opportunity to purchase and taste Wuzhou Liubao Tea. In the first half of this year, the output value of “Tianyu Liubao Tea” increased by 60% compared to the same period last year.
“Enterprises are significant drivers of industrial growth. Currently, there are more than 5,900 tea-related business entities in the city, with 131 Liubao tea production enterprises holding SC licenses, including 14 large-scale enterprises,” said Tan Benxu. Our city provides element guarantees in aspects such as geographical indication protection and dedicated mark usage, as well as issuing financial policies like the “Wuzhou Liubao Tea Loan,” fully promoting the growth of the Liubao tea industry.
Telling the story of the “ancient tea-boat road” and promoting the integrated development of tea and tourism was a requirement put forth at the 14th Municipal Party Congress. In the first half of this year, the city organized a series of tea events including festivals, conferences, exhibitions, and competitions. It continued to conduct the “Tea-Boat Ancient Road – New Silk Road” global marketing campaign for Liubao tea (Zhejiang station, Beijing station), promoted the performance of “Liubao Tea Making Skills” at the United Nations headquarters, showcased Chinese tea at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and held a series of activities under the theme “Traveling Far and Wide to Taste Sanhe” in South Korea and Japan.
“Now when tourists visit the core area of Liubao tea, they not only have accommodation and catering services but also tea-picking and tea-frying interactive activities for cultural and tourism experiences.” Xie Ni, head of Liannian Tea Industry Co., Ltd., is the first person in Dazhong Village, Liubao Town, Cangwu County, a national key village for rural tourism, to develop the integration of tea and tourism. Last year, she received more than 30,000 domestic and international tourists. “Once