The comprehensive revitalization of the countryside hinges on the revitalization of its industries. President Xi Jinping has emphasized that industrial revitalization should be given top priority in rural revitalization.
Guizhou, with its majestic mountains and clear waters, is a land of natural beauty and hidden treasures. On its hills and mountain slopes, there are over 7 million mu of Tea gardens, serving as a “green ATM” for the people. Tea, the “ancient divine tree” of the East and the “green treasure” of Guizhou, thrives in this region, which boasts ideal ecological conditions for tea cultivation due to its high altitude, low latitude, abundant cloud cover, and absence of pollution.
Guizhou has a long history of tea cultivation. Through years of relentless effort, it has become one of China's major tea-producing provinces. Efforts have been made to optimize the marketing environment and promote the culture, industry, and science of tea. These efforts have yielded significant results, enriching the tea industry and benefiting both the economy and the environment. This has solidified the foundation for the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside, achieving a harmonious coexistence between green mountains and productive ones.
“Short in stature, with white blossoms, greening the hills, enriching countless homes.” As the season of Spring Tea arrives, we invite you to explore Guishan's “Observing Tea” series, following the path of tea's prosperity and sharing the laughter along the entire tea industry chain.
## The Green Wealth of Sandu Transforms into Gold
It's hard to imagine that a village situated in uneven terrain with narrow roads would have more residents than registered inhabitants.
In the depths of the Miao Mountains lies the village of HePing in Sandu Water Autonomous County, Qiannan Prefecture. With a registered population of 1,313 households and 5,460 people, only about 700 individuals leave the village each year for education, business, or work elsewhere. Yet, every year, over 1,000 outsiders choose to live in the village for nine months.
What is the secret behind HePing Village's ability to retain its residents and attract outsiders? The answer lies in the “tea industry.”
The village currently has 26,000 mu of tea gardens, with 23,000 mu in production. On average, each household manages 17.5 mu, and each person oversees 4.2 mu. The scale of HePing Village's tea gardens may seem exaggerated.
Yet, the economic benefits are substantial. “In 2025, the village produced 4,600 tons of fresh tea leaves, yielding 1,022 tons of dried tea. The total output value reached 123 million yuan, and the per capita annual income from the tea industry alone exceeded 8,000 yuan,” said Liao Yuanjun, the Party Secretary of HePing Village, providing a conservative estimate.
HePing Village's success in revitalizing the tea industry has become a model for the comprehensive revitalization of Sandu. A new chapter of tea prosperity and wealth for the people is being written in Sandu, known as the “Feather River Water Country.”
### A “Green Bank” Hidden in the Depths of the Miao Mountains
In early March, amidst the fragrance of tea, the tea mountains are bustling with activity. On the morning of March 28th, thousands of tea pickers were seen on the misty tea mountains of HePing Village.
Wu Zhengquan, a major tea producer in HePing Village, mentioned, “I currently manage over 500 mu of tea gardens in production, employing over a hundred tea pickers, all from outside the village. I own a processing factory, and we split the market price of the harvested tea leaves evenly.”
Liao Yuanjun explained that these tea pickers come from non-tea regions nearby and form long-term cooperative relationships with the local tea farmers. They arrive in early March and stay until late November, with their accommodation provided by the tea farmers. During the prime season for pre-ming tea leaves, some tea pickers even work at night under headlamps due to the short daylight hours.
### The Tea Industry Lights Up a Beautiful Village
The robust foundation of HePing Village's tea industry and the integrated value chain benefit all villagers. The prosperity of the tea industry is the result of decades of continuous effort by several generations.
HePing Village ranges in elevation from 820 meters to 1,636 meters, making it one of the highest administrative villages in Sandu Water Autonomous County. Its climate and geographical environment are suitable for tea cultivation, but it did not produce tea in the past. In 1972, a work team dispatched by the county's commercial bureau introduced tea seedlings from the origin of “Duyun Maojian” and encouraged the villagers to plant them. By the early 1980s, the collective management of tea gardens had transitioned to individual households, and the government encouraged the expansion of tea gardens. However, the difficulty of transporting tea to nearby trading markets limited the enthusiasm for planting tea. After 2003, the western development accelerated the process of “Eastern Tea Entering the West,” and the local people recognized the potential of the tea industry. With policy support, the tea gardens in HePing Village expanded rapidly, reaching 15,000 mu.
In 2014, Guizhou launched a three-year action plan to improve the tea industry. Qiannan Prefecture leveraged the “Duyun Maojian Regional Public Brand” and vigorously developed the tea industry, integrating Tea culture, industry, and science. Benefiting from various policies supporting industrial revitalization, the tea gardens in HePing Village grew significantly, and the production, processing, and sales systems gradually improved, transforming the village into a specialized tea village.
### “Beacon of Tea Revitalization” Illuminates a Harmonious Village
The rich foundation of HePing Village's tea industry and the integrated value chain benefit all villagers. Every link of the tea industry reflects the interests of the villagers. Behind the prosperous tea industry is the continuous effort of successive village party committees, consolidating the battle fortresses and empowering party members to lead the way in tea revitalization and wealth creation.
When we first arrived in HePing Village for interviews, we sensed something extraordinary: the village's organization was referred to as the “Village Party Committee” rather than the familiar “Village Party Branch.” In 2016, the village was formed through the merger of four smaller villages – HePing, JiangYe, ZhongJiang, and LiangShan. With over 100 party members, the conditions for establishing a village party committee were met.
### The Transformation of Industries Resonates with the “New Sandu Ode”
In the practice of the “two mountains,” HePing Village, as the “first tea village” of Sandu, has gained increasing recognition, attracting numerous grassroots organizations for study and observation. This reflects the profound transformation of the tea industry in Sandu.
Located in the community of HeJiang in DaHe Town, Guizhou Qianshan Fresh Ecological Tea Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive enterprise involved in tea planting, acquisition, processing, sales, and research. It owns a tea plantation of 1,200 mu and an annual production capacity of over 200 tons. Last year, the company supplied more than 20 tons of dried tea to well-known domestic tea enterprises, and an increasing number of large tea companies are choosing to use the dried tea raw materials from DaHe Town.
The tea industry's prosperity has ignited the rural consumer market. In HePing Village, where the per capita income exceeds 10,000 yuan, supermarkets and restaurants are readily available. According to Wu Qibo, a member of the village party committee and the secretary of the first branch, the town of DaHe sells a large fattened pig daily, while in HePing Village, two pigs are required to meet the demand.
The thriving tea industry has retained half of the village's young and middle-aged population. “Thanks to tea cultivation, my family has never needed to work outside,” said Yang Dahai, a 48-year-old resident of HePing Village. “Several leading tea enterprises have set up processing factories in the village, purchasing tea from the farmers. Inspired by this, I started my own processing factory, producing over 30 tons of dried tea annually, generating a total income of over one million yuan.”
The integration of the tea industry has created employment opportunities for over 400 people in tea enterprises and given rise to a new profession – tea brokers. At 45 years old, Yuan Moucui operates more than ten mu of tea gardens. She picks tea from her own garden in the morning, collects fresh tea leaves from remote villages in the afternoon, and sells them to designated processing factories, earning a commission of 0.5 to 1 yuan per pound.
### The Tea Industry Flourishes in Sandu
In Sandu, “new farmers,” tea merchants, and party cadres shine brightly along the entire tea industry chain, unleashing the tremendous energy of new productivity through reform and innovation.
Connecting thousands of households to the external market, the tea industry, as a “successor industry” and a “blessing industry,” has increased the incomes of a third of the county's population along the entire value chain. Amidst the mountains and waters of Sandu