Qingchuan county of Guangyuan, Southwest China's Sichuan province held a tea picking festival on March 24, when farmers were busy with the harvest season for locally grown white tea.

A tea garden turns green in spring in Qingchuan county of Guangyuan, Southwest China's Sichuan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Qingchuan is a beneficiary of a donation of 5.4 million tea seedlings from East China's Zhejiang province. Four years ago, it built a 100-hectare tea-planting base that covers nine townships and has helped more than 1,500 people get out of poverty.

At present, the county's tea-producing area totals 354 hectares. The number is expected to increase to 466 by the end of this year.

Under the guidance of experts from the China Tea Institute and Zhejiang province, farmers have studied advanced technologies and optimized their crop management according to local conditions. The total output of this year's spring tea is estimated to reach 3,500 kg.

Tea leaves picked in Qingchuan county of Guangyuan, Southwest China's Sichuan province [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Tea is the leading agricultural industry in Qingchuan. In 2021, the county's tea output value was 2.5 billion yuan ($392 million). There are 162 tea processing operators and the per capita income of tea farmers has increased by over 5,000 yuan.