It’s the golden period for picking Mingqian tea (a kind of tea which is picked before the Qingming Festival). Tea farmers were busy picking tea leaves on mountains of Zhuangshang Village, Tuojiang Town, Fenghuang County.
Mingqian tea begins to sprout during Awakening of Insects and Spring Equinox. Tea leaves can be picked before the Qingming Festival. But the weather is still cold during harvesting, resulting in low yields and high prices.
Mingqian tea buds and leaves are delicate and tender, with abundant aroma and flavor substances, making it a high-quality “scarce commodity” in the tea market.
Tian Maosong, secretary of the village, introduced that the village planted 750 mu (50 hectares) of tea in 2021. This year is the third year of tea cultivation, and 2,000 kg can be harvested before the Qingming Festival, with an estimated market price of 280 yuan per kg.
In recent years, Fenghuang County has vigorously promoted the cultivation of ecological tea based on local conditions, and continuously improved the quality of tea. The economic, ecological and cultural functions of the tea industry have been expanding, and tea has gradually become an important way to increase farmers’ income and promote rural revitalization.
