After the beginning of autumn, the vast Tea mountains of Hongshan Town in Renhua County, Shaoguan, have entered the autumn tea harvest period. It is currently the prime time for harvesting and producing summer and autumn teas. The summer and autumn teas in various ecological tea gardens are growing well, and tea farmers are busy with the harvest while tea factories are busy processing, presenting a bustling scene throughout the mountain villages.
In Dongkeng Tea Garden, Yuhuang Village, Hongshan Town, there is a sea of green as far as the eye can see. In the morning, the tea pickers greet the sun, carrying bamboo baskets up the tea mountain. Row after row of white-haired tea plants are lush and verdant, with new buds sprouting among the leaves. They walk between the rows of tea plants, quickly picking tender shoots. Before long, their bamboo baskets are filled with fresh, delicate tips. Li Xuejiao, a local planting specialist, said that this year's spring brought abundant rain and the summer had ample sunshine, making the summer and autumn teas in Hongshan Town grow very well. Currently, the harvest and production of autumn tea are being carried out simultaneously.
“Now is the period for harvesting autumn tea, and our farmers have basically started picking the autumn tea. When the tea is picked, it needs to be processed on the same day. There are those who pick one bud with one leaf or one bud with two leaves, depending on their own needs to produce different grades of tea,” said Li Xuejiao, a tea planting specialist from Hongshan Town.
Upon entering the Jinchun Black Tea Factory, a fragrant aroma of tea greets you. The tea workers lay out freshly picked white-haired tea leaves flat on tables for spreading and withering. The fresh leaves of white-haired tea have excellent quality and a rich aroma, suitable for making black tea, Green Tea, and White Tea. The tea factory can produce different types of autumn tea according to market orders.
He Qinyan, the person in charge of the Jinchun Black Tea Factory, stated that August to late September is the season for producing autumn tea. The current weather is very suitable, and the quality of the autumn tea growth is also very good, ensuring a stable yield. It is expected that over 10,000 pounds of autumn tea will be produced. Purchasers are coming to buy the tea, and sales are quite good.
It is understood that Hongshan Town is known as the “Home of Chinese White Tea” and one of the “Ten Major Tea Villages in Guangdong.” Yuhuang Village has been rated as a model village for the “One Village, One Product” initiative nationwide. Currently, the tea garden area in Hongshan Town has reached 16,500 mu, with the county's total tea garden area reaching 21,500 mu. An initial formation of a complete industrial chain has been achieved, integrating standardized planting and factory processing of tea, tea garden sightseeing, Tea culture experience, and tea travel health care. The tea industry has become an important lever and powerful engine for implementing the rural revitalization strategy.
Text and images | Journalist Ouyang Zhiqiang, Correspondents Wu Songdan, Qiu Qicong