At the foot of Mount Wudun and the source of the Han River. The landscape is picturesque, and the Tea fragrance fills every home. As summer approaches, our reporters saw many farmers picking tea in the fields in Zhuangtian Village, Nanling Town. “During the off-season for farming, working part-time picking tea on the tea mountain doesn't bring in much income, but it helps supplement household expenses, which is pretty good,” said one villager from Zhuangtian Village. The tea industry has brought tangible economic benefits to them.
In recent years, Nanling Town has conscientiously implemented the specific arrangements of the provincial Party committee's “1310”, the municipal Party committee's “138”, and the county Party committee's “137” work plans. It remains steadfast in pursuing high-quality development and aims to promote the integration of agriculture and tourism to create a “forest tea travel small town.” Seizing the significant opportunities presented by the implementation of the “Hundred Thousand Projects,” it accelerates the construction of a “one center, two zones, two belts” development pattern, striving to write a new chapter in the high-quality development of Nanling.
A Sea of Green and a Sea of “Gold”
Tea is the “Golden Calling Card” of Nanling. In recent years, Nanling Town has vigorously implemented an industrial strengthening strategy, focusing on developing local specialties. It actively explores the development of “Tea Garden +” agricultural tourism projects, accelerating the construction of the Chunsheng Tea Travel Complex and ensuring the implementation of the rural revitalization agricultural tourism construction project in Nanling Town, Zijin County. This aims to improve the quality and efficiency of the tea industry, transforming “green leaves” into a steady stream of “golden leaves.”
Currently, the town's tea plantation area exceeds 10,000 mu (approximately 667 hectares), with more than 1,200 households and 3,000 people engaged in tea cultivation. The annual output value of tea is nearly 200 million yuan. In 2025, the average village-level income was 3.9 million yuan, with a growth rate of 63.46%. It has truly transformed “local specialties” into a “golden brand” that strengthens villages and enriches their residents. With “ten-thousand mu tea gardens,” it paints a new picture of a livable and prosperous countryside, writing a big article on high-quality development with “small tea leaves.”
Nanling Town also actively implements modernization improvement projects for the tea industry, building standardized Tea processing plants and updating tea processing equipment. It comprehensively advances supply-side structural reforms and the transformation and upgrading of the tea industry, promoting the comprehensive improvement and upgrade of the entire tea industry chain. This builds a cluster of advantageous green industries, further enhancing the quality of Nanling tea and continuously burnishing the golden reputation of “Nanling Tea,” focusing on supporting the creation of the Zijin Chancha agricultural brand at the county level.
In addition to the tea industry, Nanling Town also vigorously implements improvement projects for the pickled vegetable industry, planting organic large-leaf vegetables and specialty grain crops (rice and tubers). It constructs supporting processing plants and related facilities, optimizing the agricultural industrial structure, improving the quality of pickled vegetables, and increasing the economic returns of land use. It strives to build the Nanling pickled vegetable brand. Taking Zhuangtian Village as an example, the village currently has over 8,000 mu (approximately 533 hectares) of tea plantations and about 150 mu (approximately 10 hectares) of mustard plantations. There are 32 companies and cooperatives, including three leading enterprises. Zhuangtian Village, together with Wanggao Village, Dongxi Village, Gaixin Village, Ruiqiu Village, and Caitou Village, jointly established a strong village company (namely, Zijin County Nanling Fuli United Village Construction and Development Co., Ltd.), taking multiple measures to increase the income of village-level collective economies.
Playing a New “Yue” Chapter in Green Beauty
Since the launch of the Green and Beautiful Guangdong Ecological Construction, Nanling Town has carried out extensive greening and beautification actions in towns and villages, creating 125 “Beautiful Courtyards.” It further promotes the construction of a “Beautiful Courtyard” model village in Zhuangtian Village and “Beautiful Courtyard” model areas in Wanggao Village, Dongxi Village, Gaixin Village, Ruiqiu Village, and CaiTou Village, building a matrix of “Beautiful Courtyards +”, each with its own unique scenery. Currently, the town has planted over 10,000 various seedlings, raising funds (equivalent to the value of the seedlings) totaling approximately 140,000 yuan. It actively mobilizes over 370 households of villagers to participate in the creation of “Beautiful Courtyards,” organizing young volunteers to regularly conduct forest patrols and protection activities, with a focus on protecting ancient trees and famous woods. Taking “green” as the base and moving toward “beauty,” the new “Yue” chapter of green beauty resonates throughout Nanling.
Nanling Town also actively implements infrastructure upgrades and improvements to the living environment, advancing the construction of beautiful towns and improving the quality of the living environment. It effectively creates a clean and tidy, orderly, and sustainable beautiful Nanling town, continually enhancing the happiness index of the residents, enhancing the “beauty” of the countryside, and focusing on driving the beautiful “transformation” of Nanling. Today, Nanling Town has completed the main road, the reconstruction of the Huangkeng Bridge, and the upgrade of the primary and secondary school sports fields. Construction has started on roads linking Nanling to Huizhou County and a number of rural roads and bridges. The construction of a comprehensive building for the health center is also on the agenda.
Nanling Town also actively conducts evaluations for “Clean and Tidy Households,” “Beautiful and Livable Households,” and “Model Households Led by Party Members,” further strengthening rural environmental remediation, promoting changes in customs and practices, establishing a civilization with new trends, developing a culture of worthy countrymen, and gathering positive energy.
Cultural and Tourism Integration Forms a Chain of Pearls
Recently, our reporters visited Zijin County Xaoyao Valley Agricultural Co., Ltd. located in Ruiqiu Village, Nanling Town, Zijin County. The antique entrance gate catches the eye immediately, with a café, beach camping area, and joy square all available, offering visitors a rich array of entertainment options. During long holidays, tourists flock here to play and stay, with rooms booked up early. Since opening to the public, this location has become one of the destinations for tourism in the Greater Bay Area and surrounding cities, further assisting the rapid development of the Zijin homestay industry and transforming Zijin's rural “beautiful resources” into “beautiful economy.”
Nanling Town is named after the numerous high mountains within its borders. The town's scenery is beautiful, reminiscent of a border town described by Shen Congwen or like a hidden “Wuyuan” in the mountains of Guangdong. It is home to Zijin County's highest peak, Mount Wudun, as well as natural landscapes such as Wenbi Peak, along with Hakka pestle Tea culture, the provincial cultural relic protection unit Delian Building, and the county-level cultural relic protection unit Zhong Clan General Ancestral Hall. It also features historical and cultural sites such as the site of Wen Tianxiang's military camp and the Ming Dynasty-era CaiTou Ancient Road.
The CaiTou Ancient Road in CaiTou Village is also well-known far and wide. On the ancient road stands the “Heavenly Pavilion,” with couplets on both sides of the entrance gate reading: “Guests fill the hall drinking sweet dew; honored friends gather enjoying the fresh breeze.” There are also couplets in the main hall: “Assisting the harmonious wind in this blessed land; heaven bestows sweet dew to nourish the hearts of people.” The window sills of the pavilion also feature couplets, with the upper line being: “White clouds come and go freely,” and the lower line: “Green mountains remain timeless through the ages.” Tourists can reach the summit of Mount