In the misty mountains of Delong Village, Mengding Town, Gengma Dai and Wa Autonomous County, countless century-old wild ancient Tea trees grow. Most of these trees are between 200 to 300 years old. The low latitude, high altitude, scarce sunlight, abundant mist, and unpolluted land allow them to reproduce naturally and grow freely, maintaining their original ecological state in the natural forest.
The ancient tea tree resources in Delong Village, located deep in the mountains, are very rich. However, in the past, due to a lack of suitable technology and sales channels, these precious ancient tea trees had not been utilized effectively. Many ancient tea trees growing on field edges were poorly managed by most villagers, leading to low economic returns from these trees, causing the locals to live in poverty despite having these “money-making trees.”
To awaken these long-dormant ancient tea tree resources and turn them into “money-making trees” that could help increase local incomes, Delong Village leveraged its unique ecological conditions to build the “Delong Ancient Tree Tea” brand. Through measures such as establishing an ecological tea industry, promoting tea technology, and strengthening the tea brand, the village aimed to develop the tea industry into a green, ecological, healthy, and people-enriching sector. Focusing on the ancient tree teas, the village created a series of “Delong Tea” brands, integrated tea industry resources, enhanced the technical skills of those working in the industry, improved the quality of Tea processing, explored the local Tea culture, and established platforms for tea distribution, all contributing to the rapid, high-quality development of the tea industry in Delong Village.
“Green waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” As the market expanded, these ancient tea trees transformed into “prosperity trees” for the local villagers. They brought renewed attention to the once obscure ancient tea trees and gave farmers hope for increased income and prosperity. Statistics show that Delong Village has over 80 acres of ancient tree tea, with about 12,000 trees, of which more than 3,500 are over 200 years old. Due to the excellent aftertaste, lasting fresh aroma, and rich content of the tea leaves, they provide consumers with high-quality, ecologically sound tea products.
The tea industry is one of the key pillar industries of special agriculture in Delong Village, and it has been vigorously promoted as such. In recent years, Delong's ancient tree tea has embarked on a path of “cooperative development, brand enhancement, industrial revitalization, and benefits for the people.” Villagers have found new hope and prosperity through the “ecological resource treasure trove” right at their doorstep. The wild ancient tea trees growing abundantly across the mountains have become “golden branches and jade leaves” that help increase villagers' incomes and lead to wealth, developing a broad tea industry chain in the process.
Contributors: He Haijun, Peng Lian'gang