The Hometown of Chinese White Tea: Fuding’s Small Leaves Spawn a Big Industry

Recently, the First China White Tea Trade Convention and the 12th Fuding White Tea Festival, opened in Diantou Town of Fuding city, Fujian province. During this period of time, the Fuding Spring tea has begun to be picked for white tea production for the market, according to Fuding Convergence Media Center. As one of the most important core producing areas of white tea in China, the city of Fuding in Fujian province is best known as the hometown of white tea in the country.

In November 2022, the “Traditional tea processing techniques and their associated social practices in China” including Fuding white tea making techniques, were added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In recent years, the local government has seized the opportunity to create a national modern agricultural industrial park to promote the quality and efficiency of the whole industrial chain and facilitate rural revitalization, basing on its strengths in agricultural resources (Fuding white tea), location, ecology, branding, capital, culture, etc., and implementing measures including tech-driven agriculture, tax and fee reduction, financial support.

In 2022, about 305,000 mu (around 20,333 hectares) of the tea plantation area is available for tea-picking in Fuding, with a total output of 31,000 tons of tea, including 23,000 tons of white tea. The total output value of the city’s tea industry is 13.891 billion yuan.

Over the years, Fuding has firmly taken tea industry as the pillar to advance poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. Centering on the coordinated development of “tea of high quality, tea of science and technology, tea of premium brand”, Fuding has promoted the industry development in five aspects. By continuously improving the impact of Fuding white tea brand, the city has effectively helped 380,000 people in the tea industry increase their income and live a better life.

Fuding white tea industry is poised to redouble its efforts in developing international market, improve variety cultivation and brand value, expand the international impact of its white tea and sell more products with more competitive prices.

Source: Fuding Convergence Media Center