Tea-growing success story: 35 households in Jiulong Mountain tell it with flair

In the "Four in the Farmstead" initiative, Yuqing County focuses on industrial development to truly achieve the goal of enriching farmsteads. Muyeding Village is a regular development site for the "Four in the Farmstead" program in Longxi Town. In recent years, the village has leveraged the geographical advantages of Jiulong Mountain to develop tea growing among farmers. Driven by Tian Hua, 35 households have planted 1,800 mu of tea, finding a path to prosperity for the farmers.

On February 28, this writer drove to the Jiulong Mountain tea plantation in Muyeding Village, Longxi Town, and saw tea plants covering the hills in row after row, clusters of tea bushes lush and green, with more than 70 tea pickers busy harvesting tea leaves, a scene of bustling activity.

Since ancient times, high mountains and misty clouds produce good tea. The Jiulong Mountain tea plantation in Muyeding Village, Longxi Town, is located at an altitude of 1,180 m, nestled among lush mountain forests and trees, far from towns and highways, shrouded in mist and clouds year-round. The excellent ecological environment provides a "hidden paradise" where tea plants can grow freely and pollution-free.

There was originally no tea plantation on Jiulong Mountain. Most people at the foot of the mountain went out to work, while the remaining elderly and women practiced traditional farming. In February 2007, Tian Hua, who had been working away from home, returned to the hometown that raised him, determined to find a suitable path to prosperity on this barren land. After extensive research, he sent soil and water samples from Jiulong Mountain to the county agriculture and animal husbandry bureau and the provincial geology and mineral resources bureau for soil testing. The tests showed that the pH value here is 5.1, with no harmful minerals, and the water contains 46% metasilicic acid. Combined with the natural environment of Jiulong Mountain, it is very suitable for growing tea. In the winter of 2008, Tian Hua invested 250,000 yuan and planted over 1 million tea plants, covering more than 300 mu. In order to build the tea garden into a high-standard, high-quality one, despite not knowing the techniques, he frequently consulted experts from the county and town, and insisted on the path of organic tea. In his words, he wanted Jiulong Mountain tea to be as "pure" as he, a farmer, is.

In August 2012, the 300 mu of tea plants Tian Hua had grown entered the trial harvest period. Every leaf bud of the Jiulong Mountain tea plantation, which occupies a treasured spot, drinks the morning dew and accompanies the evening breeze, gathering the spirit of heaven and earth and absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. Then, experienced tea masters carefully pan-fry it. The brewed tea is tender green with hidden emerald hues, with firm, well-proportioned, upright strands. The liquor is jade-green and clear, with an intoxicating aroma and a fresh, mellow, sweet and rich taste, sweet within bitterness. He immediately sent 1,000 kg of the pan-fried tea to Guangdong and other places, inviting tea enthusiasts there to taste it, and it was immediately well received. According to local market prices, summer tea leaf centers can reach 800 yuan/jin, and spring tea prices can reach 2,000 yuan/jin. Such a good market prospect further strengthened Tian Hua's determination and confidence to vigorously develop the tea industry. That winter, he added 500 mu of tea garden.

Tian Hua's attempt showed the people of Jiulong Mountain the hope of prosperity. Tang Xianwen, who drove a truck elsewhere with an annual income of 150,000 yuan, sold his truck and returned to Jiulong Mountain to plant 177 mu of tea plants. Chen Shenneng from Suyang Village in the town gave up his booming leasing company business and came to Jiulong Mountain to develop more than 300 mu of tea. By the end of 2012, the 35 households in this village group no longer went out to work but returned home to grow tea, some with over a hundred mu, others with twenty or thirty mu. More than 60 migrant workers from the whole village returned home one after another to grow tea. In order to grow every tea plant well and pan-fry every leaf well, the tea farmers of Jiulong Mountain rise at sunrise and return at sunset. To ensure the tea is pure, natural and pollution-free, the people of Jiulong Mountain use manual tilling, manual pest control and organic fertilizer, tending each tea plant like a newborn baby.

At the tea plantation, every day there are workers from the village, from other villages, and from other counties such as Huangping and Weng'an. During tea-picking season, an average of more than 70 people pick tea at the tea factory each day, from elderly people in their sixties and seventies to young girls in their late teens. Elderly Li Fangying from Xiaohe Village, Longxi Town, said happily: "We pick tea here every day, 30 yuan per jin. On average we can pick over 3 jin, and those with quick hands can pick over 4 jin. That works out to over a hundred yuan a day, and lunch is provided. It's much better than doing odd jobs in town."

In January 2011, in response to the continuously growing tea industry, Tian Hua organized and applied to establish the Yuqing County Jiulong Mountain Tea, Fruit and Vegetable Professional Cooperative, with more than 20 members and a developed planting area of 1,800 mu. He also invested 700,000 yuan to build a new organic tea processing factory, introducing advanced technology and processing equipment. Once completed, it can process up to 10 tons of organic tea per year. At the same time, he registered the Muyeding Jiulong Mountain Tea trademark and is currently applying for QS certification.

Jiulong Mountain's advantage lies in tea, its specialty lies in tea, its way out lies in tea, and its hope lies in tea. Expanding the tea industry is an important path for the people of Jiulong Mountain to prosper. In the future, the Jiulong Mountain tea plantation will follow the principles of "adapting to local conditions, concentrated and contiguous planting, rational layout, long-term vision and scientific development," actively developing tea belts around the Jiulong Mountain range. As Village Director He Kaiquan said: "The people of Jiulong Mountain are actively seeking a reliable and convenient source of income. Only when everyone is prosperous can it be considered true prosperity."

Around Qingming Festival, Jiulong Mountain's high-quality tea is about to hit the market. The people of Jiulong Mountain frankly say that they have always grown tea with heart, and will strive to make Jiulong Mountain tea another shining pearl in the heartland of "northern Guizhou" within 3 to 5 years.