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CHAOZHOU, China, Jun. 10, 2020 /Xinhua=KYODO JBN/--

Recently, the first International Tea Day witnessed an online promotion event

in Chaozhou city of Guangdong province, China.

Chaozhou boasts a Fenghuang Mountain hidden in mist, where villages of

Fenghuang Town locate. As tens of thousands of tea farmers are busy shuttling

through local tea gardens, people here, though live deep in the mountain and

were once so poor that townsfolk from their neighborhood always tried to avoid

contact with them, are quite well off now. All the mystery however, lies in the

oolong tea named Dancong (meaning single cluster) planted here all over the

mountain.

According to the Information Office of the People's Government of Chaozhou

Municipality, Chaozhou integrates tea cultivation with cultural tourism to

improve the standardized cultivation and the modern management level of tea

gardens. With a large number of tourists comes increased comprehensive benefits

of the Fenghuang Dancong Tea. The tea is planted in single cluster, picked and

processed separately. With enduring fragrance, a sweet and mellow taste, and a

nice aftertaste, it has been highly praised by tea drinkers.

Chaozhou, a well-known historical and cultural city, has been seeing an influx

of Chinese and foreign tourists, with its time-honored history, unique and

prosperous culture, exquisite craftsmanship and beautiful scenery. In this

city, tourists can try Kung Fu tea with lingering fragrance and flavor, admire

handicrafts such as the Chaozhou embroidery and ceramics, visit Guangji Bridge

and other places of historical interest, and feel the unique charm of Chaozhou

culture.

In recent years, the Fenghuang Dancong Tea industry has developed rapidly and

become one of Chaozhou's dominant agricultural industries. Fenghuang Town, with

its tea plantation area exceeding 70,000 mu (about 4666.7 hectares) and an

annual output value of about 1 billion yuan, is the core production area of the

tea.

Apart from the traditional cultivation, tea farmers have also responded to the

call of the government for industrial modernization, seeking new ideas and

changes. Huang Yuanzhi, a "post-1980s" tea farmer, is from a family where nine

consecutive generations have been engaged in tea cultivation. Different from

the traditional cultivation and wholesale mode of the previous generations,

Huang hopes to adopt scientific planting and management methods, improve the

quality of the Dancong Tea and build a century-old brand, on the basis of

inheriting the ancient tea trees and production skills left by his parents.

At present, the construction of the Provincial Modern Agricultural Industrial

Park for Fenghuang Dancong Tea is stepping up. The tea trading market is also

being planned, with a tea cultural space and other functions such as intangible

cultural heritage inheritance, skills training for Kung Fu tea. The tea has

made the people here rich, and Fenghuang Town has embarked on the road of

prospering agriculture with science and technology and enriching farmers with

industries.

"The tea industry in Fenghuang Town, apart from pursuing quality development,

consolidating and improving the primary industry, shall also make for

integrated development by connecting with the secondary and tertiary

industries," said Huang Zhigang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Fenghuang

Town, confidently introducing that by creating a unique town featured with tea

and tourism, the secondary and tertiary industries will also be improved. Tea

gardens are turned into parks, and farmers become investors. In this way,

ecology is well protected, farmers' income increased, and rural characteristic

industries revitalized.

Source: The Information Office of the People's Government of Chaozhou

Municipality

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=364939

   Caption: Tea leaves drying in the Provincial Modern Agricultural Industrial Park for

Fenghuang Dancong Tea, Chao'an District, Chaozhou City, Guangdong, China

(Aerial photo).