The cuisine of Chaozhou is endlessly enjoyable.

Cattle meat hotpot, licorice fruit, braised goose…

A variety of delicacies are on offer!

The culture of Chaozhou endures through the ages.

Jiadi Lane, Archway Street, Kaiyuan Temple, and Longhu Ancient Village…

Millennia of spiritual essence converge here!

(Image Source: Tea Weekly) Chaozhou, its prosperous development like a splendid scroll, and Phoenix Oolong Tea is an unignorable color on this scroll.

(Image Source: Hengdao Yipin Organic Tea) Chaozhou has a long history of tea cultivation, a profound Tea culture, and abundant ancient tea tree resources. Currently, there are about 15,000 ancient tea trees over 100 years old in Chaozhou, including 4,600 trees over 200 years old, 58 trees between 400 and 500 years old, 17 trees between 500 and 600 years old, and 6 trees over 600 years old. These are living witnesses to the long history of the tea industry in Chaozhou and are rare, precious tea tree resources in the world, hailed as “China's National Treasure.”

(Image Source: Chaozhou Release) Years of accumulation and nourishment have given birth to a uniquely charming tea and a treasure trove of tea culture. The tea industry in Chaozhou is thriving across the entire value chain.

In Chaozhou, Phoenix Oolong tea is a golden brand. According to statistics, in 2025, the tea planting area in the city reached 276,900 mu (approximately 18,460 hectares), with a production of 32,600 tons, a total output value of 8.195 billion yuan, 200,000 people employed in the industry, and a total value of the tea industry chain exceeding 30 billion yuan.

Data shows that in 2025, the value of tea exports from Chaozhou was 240 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 40.3%. In the second half of 2025, tea exports from Chaozhou achieved counter-cyclical growth, with a combined export value of approximately 620 million yuan in July and August, a year-on-year increase of 210%.

Phoenix Oolong tea, as a green special industry in Chaozhou, is setting sail, taking root and flourishing around the world, captivating more people with its unique charm and the beautiful gift it represents from Chaozhou.

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Established in Chaozhou, Looking at the Rise of the Phoenix Oolong Tea Industry

Chaozhou, the first city in Lingdong, a hub of humanistic brilliance, where global “Chao” culture was born.

Chaozhou vigorously develops its characteristic economy, adjusts and optimizes its economic structure, and its economic scale continues to rise, delivering impressive results year after year. In 2025, its economic output exceeded 100 billion yuan, reaching 106.728 billion yuan in 2025, and then steadily growing.

(Image Source: Cultural Chaozhou / Xiao Yong) Leveraging the strong economic power of Chaozhou, the vitality of the Phoenix Oolong tea industry is continuously stimulated. In 2025, the output value of tea in Chaozhou City was 6.365 billion yuan, accounting for 32.4% of the agricultural output value, which was 26.3 percentage points higher than in 2012 (when it accounted for 6.1%). The tea production was 26,700 tons, 2.1 times that of 2012.

In the tide of rapid economic development, the tea industry in Chaozhou also rides the wave upward. The value of Phoenix Oolong tea has been deeply excavated and widely recognized by the market. Based on the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage and the acceleration of industrial transformation and upgrading, it has undergone a brilliant transformation in the new era.

The development of tea in Chaozhou can be traced back to the Song Dynasty, and tea exports began at the end of the Qing Dynasty. During the Jiaqing period, Phoenix Oolong tea was already a well-known export commodity. According to Yu Shoukang's “Chronicle of Famous Chinese Teas,” Phoenix tea “is internationally renowned, with production and sales entering a period of prosperity,” ranking among the 24 major famous teas in China at the time.

(Image Source: Shaoyong Hall) During the Republic of China period, more people from Chaozhou went abroad to Southeast Asia and Thailand to seek their fortunes. Some Chaozhou people opened teahouses in these places, promoting their hometown's tea overseas. During this period, Phoenix Oolong tea was mainly exported until 1984 when the national tea market was liberalized, and Phoenix Oolong tea shifted from being primarily exported to being primarily sold domestically. Currently, there are 307 tea companies processing over 10 tons annually in Chaozhou, over 60 tea cooperatives, and more than 10,000 tea sales outlets. Five towns specializing in tea production, each with over 10,000 mu (approximately 667 hectares) of tea plantations, have formed in Fenghuang Town and Dengtang Town in Chao'an District, and Fubin Town, Xintang Town, and Jianrao Town in Rao'ping County. Additionally, there are over 100 tea-specialized villages, 18 national and provincial standardized demonstration zones for tea, and eight provincial agricultural standardized demonstration zones for tea, radiating and driving the standardized production of nearly 110,000 mu (approximately 7,333 hectares) of tea gardens.

(Image Source: Chaozhou Television) Chaozhou has also been honored with various accolades for its tea industry, including “China's Oolong Tea Hometown,” “China's Lingtou Oolong Tea Hometown,” “One of China's Ten Most Charming Tea Towns,” and “China's Beautiful Tea Garden.”

Compared to other famous teas, Phoenix Oolong tea leans more towards word-of-mouth promotion, being a niche tea favored by a small circle.

In recent years, as the tea market continues to evolve, Phoenix Oolong tea has received increasing attention. First, the popularity of tea drinks based on the Duck Shit Fragrant Phoenix Oolong tea has soared, followed by the appearance of Phoenix Oolong tea at tea gatherings in Guangzhou's Songyuan, showcasing a diplomatic style…

With the growing reputation of Phoenix Oolong tea, many tea enthusiasts are eager to visit the tea mountains to explore them firsthand.

With the recovery of Tourism, the development momentum of tea culture and tourism in Chaozhou is strong, creating projects such as the Phoenix Mountain tea Travel Corridor and the Phoenix Oolong Tea Culture and Tourism Festival.

According to statistics, in recent years, Fenghuang Town in Chaozhou has received an average of over 8 million visitors annually, directly creating