At a recent forum on the sustainable development of Chinese tea-based drinks, Huangshan district – located in Huangshan city in East China's Anhui province – was awarded the title of Pioneer Zone for the Development of New Tea Beverages.
The recognition follows the district's ongoing efforts to foster the growth of local new Chinese tea drink enterprises – including Huangshan Greenxtract Co Ltd, Huangshan Maofeng Tea Group Co Ltd and Chaleafun.
In particular, Huangshan has supported these emerging tea drink manufacturers in increasing their investment in technological research and development.
The combined R&D investment of the three businesses last year came in at 6.44 million yuan ($903,023), resulting in one invention patent, four utility model patents and one design patent.
Moreover, the district has proactively promoted collaboration between new tea drink enterprises and educational institutions. A prime example is the construction of a laboratory for green and low-carbon manufacturing of new tea beverages by Greenxtract and Anhui Agricultural University.
Most notably, Huangshan district implemented a "base + farmer" model this year to boost rural vitalization and increase the incomes of locals – leveraging its rich ecological and tea industry resources.
So far this year, local new Chinese tea drink manufacturers have acquired a cumulative total of 100,000 kilograms of fresh tea leaves from local farmers, leading to a hefty increase of 680,000 yuan in the total income of the farmers.
The vast tea cultivation area in Huangshan district. [Photo/article.xuexi.cn]