Early spring tea goes on sale in Yiling

By Zeng Lei, Yichang International Communication Studio

Taipingxi Town of Yiling held its second annual early spring tea festival on March 4, kicking off the season at a newly-opened tea culture park.

On March 4, more than 200,000 yuan (US$28,954) worth of product was sold to an audience of half a million viewers. Yiling’s tea companies began selling tea online through livestreaming on February 28. 

Yiling is part of Yichang City. Its Xiazhouzao tea is a local Yichang tea brand, made from early, high-quality, high-yielding tea tree species, which is ripe for picking about 15 days earlier than other tea tree species.

The opening ceremony was held in the newly completed "Chafo Tea Culture Tourism Valley" theme park. The 2,900 square meter park will help promote the "Chafo Valley" rural tourism brand. “Chafo” means “the Tea Buddha”. This project integrates tea planting production and rural tourism to promote economic growth.

In 2022, Taipingxi Town planted 40,000 mu (2,667 hectares) of tea producing 7,000 tons of dry tea each year worth 200 million yuan. This included 15,000 mu of Xiazhouzao tea with an annual output of 1,000 tons and revenue of 100 million yuan.


Photo by: Li Chongqing