BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The coastal city of Rizhao in east China's Shandong Province is about to usher in the harvest season of spring tea around Guyu, or Grain Rain, the sixth of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on April 20 this year.
With advanced technology and innovative strategies, the city's green tea industry is undergoing revolutionary development through multiple links including seedling cultivation, planting, processing, sales and branding, allowing the tea products to enter not only domestic markets, but international ones in the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea, among others.
As a major tea producing area in northern China, Rizhao started its attempt of introducing southern tea to the north in 1959 and succeeded in 1966.
Rizhao Yuyuanchun Tea Industry Co., Ltd. has made years of efforts in cultivating tea seedlings in the northern part of China. "Our seedlings are characterized by having multiple roots, which makes them survive better," said Yuan Qijun, general manager of the company.
It generally takes three years for new-planted tea seedlings before they can be picked, but with Yuyuanchun's seedlings, it takes two years less, which means farmers can make two years more of profit, said a representative with a local tea company.
Getting ready for the upcoming tea-picking season, Rizhao Chacang Tea Industry Co., Ltd. is working on the package design for this year's new tea. "With the farmers and the village community managing the production, our focus is on processing, sales and branding," said Zhao Huihui, general manger of the company.
Rizhao Chacang has developed a new managing mode that coordinates among big data platforms, the village community, the tea company, the production base and the farmers, Zhao explained.
Following such pattern, Jufeng Town of Rizhao City in November 2021 established a tea industry union that attracted 88 local village communities, forming an industrial circle that involves seedling cultivation, planting, storage, processing and sales.
Local tea sellers are also taking advantage of e-commerce to promote sales of tea. Data shows that the output value of Jufeng Town's tea industry amounted to 1.1 billion yuan (about 160 million U.S. dollars) in 2022, of which 280 million yuan are generated through e-commerce platforms, including plenty of exporting deals.
(Edited by Yu Huichen with Xinhua Silk Road, yuhuichen@xinhua.org)
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