“Our Xinhe Village is situated between Guangshan, Songshan, and Daren villages, which were established as model ‘10,000 mu, 10 million yuan' Tea villages in recent years, and borders the famous ancient tea village. However, it is often overlooked. In our local dialect, we are referred to as the ‘forgotten one,' with a low sense of presence. Even our tea king tree is seldom mentioned.” Walking through an ancient tea forest in the Xinhe Villager Group, Li Dengwu, Party branch secretary of Xinhe Village, Wenquan Town, remarked.
The “tea king” that Li Dengwu refers to grows on a small hill in Xinhe Villager Group. As late spring approaches, over a hundred ancient tea trees scattered across several ridges have been partially harvested, while others still bear tender buds. Among them, the largest stands out, its several main branches originating from the root are robust, and fresh young leaves dance in the wind on umbrella-like branches.
“This is the largest cultivated ancient tea tree in our village. It has been contracted by a businessman in recent years, producing around 60 kilograms of fresh leaves annually. In my knowledge of cultivated ancient tea trees, this is relatively large,” Li Dengwu explained. Xinhe Village boasts abundant ancient tea tree resources, with over 6,500 trees having a trunk diameter of more than 15 centimeters. Additionally, the construction of high-quality ecological tea gardens has shown significant results, covering 8,674 mu of land, making tea the primary source of income for the villagers.
The ancient tea forest in Sanchahe Villager Group is also at a critical stage for harvesting. The cultivated ancient tea trees and newly planted tea saplings in the rows form a three-dimensional Green Tea space. “This ancient tea garden covers about 200 mu, with the ancient tea trees being the old garden ridge teas. In recent years, young tea seedlings have been planted on the terraces, totaling over 400 ancient tea trees. The ancient tea trees in our Xinhe Village, especially the cultivated ones, are mostly distributed in clusters. The larger clusters can be found in Xinhe, Zhangjiazhai, Guashanpo, Xiaoyangquan, Xiaoxinzhai, Dalanba, and Sanchahe,” Li Dengwu said.
“Our tea factory is often mistaken for being in Lianxi or Songshan Village. Actually, our village is a necessary stop along the road connecting these two villages, and we have many ancient tea trees and ecological teas.” Zizhongde and Liu Chengfen, a couple from Xiaoyangquan Villager Group who built their tea factory along the road between Songshan and Lianxi Villages, empathize with Li Dengwu's “forgotten one” sentiment. They started building their tea factory in 2007, mainly acquiring and processing local ancient and ecological teas, producing over ten tons of dried tea annually.
“At first, it was awkward being mistaken for people from another village every day. Later, as more tea merchants visited, they came to know us in Xinhe and learned that we have excellent ancient and ecological teas. Being located between the two villages turned into an advantage instead.” Zizhongde said as he brewed tea, “In recent years, our tea has gained recognition from merchants, and Xinhe Village's reputation has grown, increasing both our and the tea farmers' incomes. In the future, we will work harder with the tea farmers, focusing more on quality, ecology, and safety, ensuring strict quality control, striving to gain wider recognition for Xinhe tea, and improving our lives through the leaf.”
“Tea concerns the livelihood of everyone in Xinhe.” Li Dengwu explained that Xinhe Village has always focused on protecting and developing ancient tea trees while managing ecological tea gardens, making tea a more prominent pillar for income growth. So far this year, the village has achieved a tea industry value of 7.797 million yuan, with an average of 23,000 yuan per household among the 339 farming households.
Looking to the future, Li Dengwu is full of confidence: “In the future, we will transform the awkwardness of being the forgotten one into an advantage, continue strengthening the protection of ancient tea trees, further enhance the development level of ancient tree tea products, increase efforts in managing high-quality ecological tea gardens, and utilize our geographical advantages for greater promotion. We will strive to create a unique path for the tea industry in Xinhe, relying on good ecology and becoming known for our ancient tea trees.”
