As the largest dark tea producing area in China, Anhua County in Yiyang City, Hunan Province, has integrated tea industry, tourism and culture in recent years, creating a well-known public brand—"hometown of dark tea" and showcasing the unique charm of tea.
Anhua dark tea has always been favored by tea merchants and northwest minorities. It has had a sudden rise in social status on account of its lipid-decreasing effect in the past few years. During Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1912), tea mountains in Anhua were taken as the superior tea source by tea merchants from Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. A business pattern of production-supply-marketing chain took shape, and a tea road from Anhua to northwest China, Russia and Europe was opened up in that period.
Last year, Anhua realized a comprehensive output value in tea and tourism of 8.59 billion yuan. Specifically, the county received 1.516 million tourists with income of nearly 800 million yuan, In addition, 920 tons of tea was sold via tourism with sales revenue of 120 million yuan. This year, the county strives for more than two million arrivals with over one billion yuan tourist income.
Workers are blending tea in Anhua's tea factory on March 12.
Translator: Lu Xuan
Source: Hunan Official Web Portal