To strengthen the construction of Tea appraisal instructor teams and better spread tea knowledge and promote Chinese Tea culture, from August 2nd to 5th, the nation's first advanced tea appraisal instructor training was successfully held at Hunan Jiushi Highland Tea Co., Ltd. The event was organized by the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Chinese Tea Society, and co-organized by the Yueyang City Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (City Tea Industry Office), the Hunan Provincial Tea Industry System Xiangbei (Yueyang) Experimental Station.
The 51 participants in the training were senior tea industry experts from all over the country, including Hong Kong. Prof. Xiao Lizhi from Hunan Agricultural University, Deputy Chairman of the Chinese Tea Society and Chairman of the Hunan Provincial Tea Society, as well as Liu Xu, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Sensory Appraisal and Inspection Professional Committee of the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and a national first-class tea appraiser, delivered on-site lectures and guidance. The aim was to cultivate a high-quality and skilled professional team with solid expertise, proficient appraisal skills, broad academic horizons, and a commitment to professional ethics.
The training combined comprehensive evaluation of the six major tea categories, focusing on practical training, quality analysis, discussion, and intensive training for Yellow Tea. During the training period, instructors and students made a special trip to Junshan Island Imperial Tea Garden for observation and learning, gaining a deep understanding of the “Junshan Silver Needle Yueyang Yellow Tea” industry, laying a solid foundation for promoting and publicizing “Junshan Silver Needle Yueyang Yellow Tea.”
Yueyang is known as the hometown of Chinese yellow tea, home to the renowned “Junshan Silver Needle” and other historic teas such as “Beigang Maojian.” In 2025, the yellow tea production technique (Junshan Silver Needle tea production technique) was selected as the sole representative of yellow tea to be included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
In recent years, the Yueyang yellow tea industry has rapidly risen, becoming the largest and most concentrated production area for yellow Tea processing and trade in the country. It is now an important part of the Hunan billion-yuan tea industry and colorful Hunan tea, accounting for half of the national yellow tea output and value. It has helped more than 60,000 farmers increase their incomes and become a truly advantageous, distinctive, pillar, and enriching industry for Yueyang. Yueyang will seize the opportunity of high-quality development in the tea industry, relying on the power of science and technology and talent, to continue making efforts in adjusting the industrial structure, optimizing the industrial layout, promoting industrial transformation, and strengthening the “Junshan Silver Needle Yueyang Yellow Tea” industry.