“Moutan is a beautifully scenic county in northern Guizhou.” Under the pen of Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao, Moutan County is depicted as a charming tea city on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

Tea Sea Scenic Area

Moutan has a long history of tea cultivation and production, with the “Tea Classic,” written by Tang Dynasty tea sage Lu Yu, mentioning that Moutan tea, when obtained, often boasts an exquisite flavor. Multiple contemporary tea classics, including “The Chinese Tea Classic,” include records and descriptions of Moutan tea.

“In 1939, the National Experimental Tea Farm settled in Moutan, opening the first door to modern China's tea industry,” said Tian Xu, deputy director of the Moutan County Tea Industry Development Center. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Guizhou Provincial Tea Science Research Institute and the Guizhou Provincial Moutan Tea Farm were successively established in Moutan, achieving over 60 research results in areas such as tea cultivation, breeding, pest control, and processing, which were promoted nationwide, laying a solid foundation for the development of Moutan's Tea culture.

The “Towards New Regional Coordination and Integrated Media Tour” press corps visits the Lanting Chaniu Tea Shop

During the war of resistance against Japan, when Zhejiang University relocated to Moutan for seven years, students enjoyed bringing their books and notebooks to the Meijiang Tea House during their free time and holidays to review their studies. Sipping Meijiang tea while discussing academic problems provided a rare spiritual pleasure.

“My learning conditions at Zhejiang University were extremely harsh; physics experiments were conducted in dilapidated temples. Classrooms and dormitories were set up in two guild halls. I would go to tea houses during the day to read and solve practice problems, enjoying a Cup of tea all day long, regardless of the noise in the tea house,” recalled Nobel laureate in physics, Tsung-Dao Lee, about his time studying in Yongxing, Moutan.

Viewing Sea Pavilion Scenery

Today, Moutan has become the largest tea-producing county in Guizhou, with the tea industry serving as the mainstay of local residents' income and prosperity. Currently, Moutan County has 600,000 mu (approximately 40,000 hectares) of tea gardens, averaging 1.2 mu per person. In 2025, the tea production reached 72,100 tons, with a value of 7.503 billion yuan and a comprehensive revenue of 18.012 billion yuan.

“Our county is home to 769 tea production, processing, and marketing enterprises, including 5 national-level leading enterprises, 26 provincial-level leading enterprises, and 26 municipal-level enterprises,” said Tian Xu. The annual processing capacity of the Moutan County tea industry exceeds 100,000 tons, with products ranging from green tea, Black Tea, and red tea to tea seed oil, tea polyphenols, tea tree flowers, and tea flower facial masks, among 15 categories of comprehensive development products.

Staff introducing Moutan tea to reporters

In recent years, leveraging its tea industry advantages, Moutan County has focused on attracting more new tea beverage-related projects to create a national hub for new tea beverages. It has introduced several new tea beverage companies and developed over 100 new tea beverage products. Since its establishment in Moutan, Guizhou Houtang Tea Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has formed cooperative relationships with over 100 brands and more than 50,000 offline stores nationwide.

At the production workshop of Guizhou Chunshuitang Tea Co., Ltd., jasmine-scented tea, peach oolong, and over 100 other tea products are being packed and boxed in an orderly manner after undergoing processes such as baking, scenting, and blending, destined for offline milk tea shops across the country.

Chunshuitang Tea New Product Display Wall

“Across the country, when young people order a cup of milk tea today, they are very likely to taste the flavor of Moutan,” said Wang Zihao, general manager of Guizhou Chunshuitang Tea Co., Ltd. He explained that his company has established long-term supply relationships for beverage ingredients with over 100 new tea beverage brand companies and more than 100,000 stores. The company has recently moved into a new factory spanning 20,000 square meters with 24 production lines, with an expected output value exceeding 300 million yuan this year.

“Moving forward, Moutan County will continue to focus on ‘revolving around tea, fully exploiting tea, and breaking through in tea,' exploring new ground in the new-style tea beverage sector. We encourage already operational new-style tea beverage companies to continuously explore product innovation, developing products that satisfy health-conscious consumers and offer rich flavors,” said Tian Xu. At the same time, we aim to attract and improve supply chain enterprises through investment promotion, establishing a complete supply chain encompassing packaging materials, fruits, tea, sugar, milk, flowers, and other elements, aiming to build a national hub for new-style tea beverages and driving the improvement and efficiency of Moutan's tea industry.