By the end of 2018, the total combined area of all tea gardens in Southwest China's Guizhou province had reached 7.52 million mu (50.13 hectares). Guizhou has ranked first among Chinese provinces in this regard for six consecutive years, according to an announcement released at the 7th Guizhou Tea Industry Economic Annual Meeting held in the province on Dec 29.
In recent years, the Guizhou provincial government has attached great importance to the development of the tea industry and has chosen a development path that emphasizes raw materials, manufacturing, innovation and branding.
The Wuling Mountain area is becoming the "golden triangle" of Chinese green tea, with the number of tea-processing enterprises or cooperatives reaching 5,000, total annual tea production reaching 362,000 tons and total output value reaching 39.4 billion yuan ($574.03 million).
Tea has become the first major agricultural industry in Guizhou and the third largest agricultural export after white wine and flue-cured tobacco.
