Hong Kong Media's Guizhou Tour: Home to the World’s Largest Tea Sea, Meitan Charts a Matcha-Led Future

On the third day of the delegation's Guizhou tour (April 24), the members visited the Cuiya Tea Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance Base in Meitan County, Zunyi City in the morning, to learn about the tea-making process. Through demonstrations of "killing green" (shaqing) and "extracting aroma" by Chinese tea master Mr. Tang Shijiang, the delegation deepened their understanding of high-quality tea processing techniques.

The Cuiya Tea Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance Base in Meitan County, Zunyi City, Photo by Bastille Post

The introduction of the staff on site, Photo by Bastille Post

Meitan County stands as the largest and most outstanding tea-producing county in Guizhou Province and has ranked first among China's top 100 tea-producing counties for five consecutive years. The county boasts 600,000 mu (approximately 40,000 hectares) of tea plantations. Having earned titles such as "Hometown of Famous Chinese Tea", "Hometown of Chinese Tea Culture", and "Top Ten National Tea Industry Transformation and Upgrading Demonstration Counties", etc., Meitan County is famous for its flagship tea brands, "Meitan Cuiya" and "Zunyi Hong", which are also the key tea brands developed by Guizhou Province and have both won the prestigious "Centennial World Expo China Famous Tea Gold Award".

Firing tea, Photo by Bastille Post

"Killing green" (shaqing) and "extracting aroma" by Chinese tea master Mr. Tang Shijiang, Photo by Bastille Post

The Chinese tea master, Mr. Tang Shijiang, Photo by Bastille Post

Mr, Huang Chaoyou, General Manager of Guizhou Yangchun Baixue Tea Industry Co., Ltd., said Meitan County's flagship tea products are "Meitan Cuiya" and "Zunyi Hong". He admitted that green and black tea drinkers have traditionally been middle-aged or older, while young people generally "didn't like drinking tea much". But since 2024, his corporation has been exploring ways to appeal to younger consumers by launching tea-infused mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival, tea rice dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival, and even "tea noodles" as well as other innovations.

Mr, Huang Chaoyou, General Manager of Guizhou Yangchun Baixue Tea Industry Co., Ltd., Photo by Bastille Post

Mr. Huang specifically highlighted the tea beer launched in 2024, designed to appeal to young people's preference for beer by "incorporating tea into beer". He believes tea offers a "refreshing and invigorating" taste that lets young consumers enjoy the glamour of drinking tea. The tea beer currently comes in three flavors: Meitan Cuiya, Zunyi Hong, and Jasmine Maojian.

Moreover, the corporation is also collaborating with milk tea shops to produce "raw tea", naming ChaPanda among its potential partners. Mr. Huang said the corporation is developing a wide range of "tea beverage" products, including tea rice wine, with plans to possibly launch canned Zunyi Hong beverages and other drinks in the future.

Tea beer products, Photo by Bastille Post

After noon, the delegation arrived at the China Tea Sea, also known as the "Ten Thousand Mu Tea Sea", in Meitan County. It is currently the world's largest contiguous tea plantation, covering 43,000 mu (approximately 3,533 hectares).

The China Tea Sea, Photo by Bastille Post

As a unique ecological leisure, vacation, and health-oriented tea scenic spot, the China Tea Sea follows a "tourism and tea production promote each other" model, integrating tea sea sightseeing, tea culture experiences, camping, a large canopy, outdoor cycling, and business conferences, etc.

The China Tea Sea, Photo by Bastille Post

While developing its tea industries, Meitan County has steadily promoted the integrated development of tea production and tourism, establishing iconic attractions as the China Tea Sea, the World's First Largest Teapot Tea Culture Park, the Cuiya 27 Degrees Tea Tourism Ecological Park, the Tea Industry Museum, the Guizhou Tea Culture Ecological Museum, and the Xiangshan Tea Expo Garden, etc., drawing domestic and international tourists to visit.

The China Tea Sea, Photo by Bastille Post

"The vast tea sea is boundless to behold." Stepping into Meitan's expansive tea sea, visitors find themselves surrounded by lush greenery and fresh air infused with the rich aroma of tea, which is a truly invigorating experience, like immersing oneself in a green ocean.

The China Tea Sea Scenic Spot, Photo by Bastille Post

Ms. Liu Danni, Marketing Manager of the China Tea Sea Scenic Spot, noted that Meitan County has been praised as the "Number One Tea-Producing County" for five consecutive years. In 2025, the China Tea Sea's output reached 80,000 tons, with an annual output value of 6.451 billion RMB. As for Meitan County's tea exports, it reaches more than 40 countries and regions, with core markets concentrated in five major regions: Russia, the EU, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia, as well as primary products including broken black tea, green tea, and matcha.

Ms. Liu Danni, Marketing Manager of the China Tea Sea Scenic Spot, Photo by Bastille Post

Ms. Liu said the China Tea Sea has approximately 14,000 mu (about 933 hectares) of visible tea gardens, of which about 8,000 mu (about 533 hectares) are state-managed, while the remaining area is contracted to farmers. She noted that China is home to over 160 tea tree varieties, and the China Tea Sea features 106 varieties, including specialty cultivars such as Qianmei 601 and Fuding tea.

Regarding Guizhou Province's successful entry into the ranks of "world matcha factories", Ms. Li Yanli, Deputy Director of the Meitan County Tea Industry Development Center, said Guizhou Province views matcha as an important direction for promoting the transformation and upgrading of its tea industry, emphasizing that the shift is driven by strong market demands and the aging of the traditional hand-picking workforce. Matcha, she noted, is better suited to mechanized picking, making it a sustainable industry direction. She also observed that the matcha planting area in the China Tea Sea has "developed rapidly" over the past two years.

Ms. Li Yanli, Deputy Director of the Meitan County Tea Industry Development Center, Photo by Bastille Post

Currently, the tea plantations in the China Tea Sea have about a dozen matcha production lines. Ms. Li plans to add 10 to 20 more lines in 2027 and 2028. She also stated that special funding is available this year to help tea farmers establish matcha bases, with plans to continue adding bases next year. "The matcha currently produced in Meitan County is mainly used as raw material for new tea drinks, tea desserts, tea foods, and matcha powder, etc," she said.

Photo by Bastille Post

When asked about the advantages of Guizhou's matcha, Ms. Li emphasized that the selling point lies in "clean" raw materials, promoting it with the slogan: "Clean Guizhou Tea, Shared Globally". She also stated that the raw materials are "very safe" in terms of quality and source, and stressed the need to ensure that they meet EU standards and are well controlled.

Regarding how Guizhou Province can surpass competing countries in matcha production, Ms. Li highlighted two key strategies:

First, tea variety selection: She suggested breeding new varieties with high yields and high chlorophyll content (for better color), which would improve raw material quality and reduce costs. If these conditions are met, planting and maintenance costs could be lowered, potentially even eliminating the need for shading nets, further reducing investment.

Second, improving processing standards: Ms. Li stated that Chinese matcha processing techniques will be "further improved", establishing higher standards to enhance the overall competitiveness of Chinese matcha in international markets.

The China Tea Sea, Photo by Bastille Post

In the evening, the delegation visited Maotai Town, located on the banks of the Chishui River in Renhuai City, to admire the beautiful night views. Bordering the historic Zunyi City to the north and Luzhou, Sichuan, to the south, Maotai Town is the birthplace of Maotai liquor and the site of three crossings of the Chishui River during the Long March of the Red Army.

Maotai Town, Photo by Bastille Post

Maotai Town boasts a long and rich history, integrating revolutionary culture, Maotai liquor culture, and salt transport culture. Covering 225.09 square kilometers, it administers 28 villages (communities), with a registered population of 116,400 and a resident population of 163,200. The town and the Maotai Ancient Town Cultural Industry Park operate under a unified management system. In 2017, a national 4A-level tourist attraction site was established and has since won prestigious titles such as "National Sanitary Town" and "National Civilized Town", etc.

Maotai Town adheres to the strategy of "establishing, vitalizing, and strengthening the town through liquor" to promote high-quality development of its liquor industry. It ranked 27th among China's top 100 towns in comprehensive competitiveness in 2025 and 1st among western China's top 100 towns in comprehensive competitiveness in 2025.

Maotai Town, Photo by Bastille Post

On July 21, the media delegation from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area continued the "Retracing the Long March" reporting trip through Zunyi, arriving in Maotai Town and Tucheng Town to trace the historic route of the Red Army's legendary "Four Crossings of the Chishui River" and experience the deep-rooted wine culture along its banks.

Tucheng Town, Photo by Bastille Post

The first crossing of the Chishui was born out of the Red Army's setback at the Battle of Qinggangpo in Tucheng. Having originally planned to cross the Yangtze River northward, the Red Army encountered fierce resistance from the Sichuan forces at Qinggangpo. To avoid encirclement, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission decisively abandoned the northward plan and instead moved westward across the Chishui. With help from local residents who contributed doors and planks, the Red Army built pontoon bridges overnight at locations including Tucheng and Yuanhou, marking the beginning of the Four Crossings.

The memorial site of the Battle of Qinggangpo in Tucheng, Photo by Bastille Post

The memorial site of the Battle of Qinggangpo in Tucheng, Photo by Bastille Post

The message appealing for peace at the memorial site, Photo by Bastille Post

Lin Chengying, daughter-in-law of veteran Red Army soldier He Mulin, recalled that after He Mulin was wounded at Qinggangpo, he remained in Tucheng Town. But because his Jiangxi accent made him immediately recognisable, he was forced to pretend to be deaf and mute for 14 years to protect the villagers who had sheltered him.

Lin Chengying, Photo by Bastille Post

She said He Mulin only began speaking again after the founding of the People's Republic of China. But after years of silence, his vocal cords had weakened, making fluent speech difficult. He then practised by the Chishui River for four years, like a child learning to speak, until he gradually regained his speech ability. In the years that followed, he devoted himself to spreading the Long March spirit at the Qinggangpo battlefield site and the Chishui ferry crossing.

The portrait of He Mulin, Photo by Bastille Post

Under his influence, Lin Chengying not only committed to memorizing the Red Army stories he told, but also learned to sing Red Army songs. After He Mulin's passing in 1979, she made it her daily schedule to open her door and share those stories with passing tourists.

The film Crossing, produced to mark the 90th anniversary of the Long March victory, was shot on location in Tucheng Town, drawing visitors to its ancient red walls, black-tiled roofs and old streets. Whenever tourists paused, Lin Chengying would "set aside whatever she's doing and start telling stories," determined that the legacy of the Red Army should endure on this soil.

The film "Crossing," produced to mark the 90th anniversary of the Long March victory, was shot on location in Tucheng Town. Photo by Bastille Post

That same day, the media delegation also visited Moutai Town, tracing the Red Army's three crossings of the Chishui. While the first crossing was a reluctant move forced by circumstances, the other three actions were deliberate strategic manoeuvres. At the time, the Red Army was encircled by hundreds of thousands of troops in Zunyi, with no hope of breaking through directly. So they made a show of crossing the river at Moutai Town, feigning a northward march to Sichuan, drawing the main enemy force away, and exploiting the weakened defences of Guizhou to cross the Chishui for a fourth time, successfully breaking the encirclement.

The newly built Red Army Bridge at the river, Photo by Bastille Post

Before stepping into the Moutai Chinese Liquor Culture City, the air was thick with the aroma of Moutai. The garden-style exhibition hall, with sections representing the Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties and the modern era, traces the development of China's wine industry over millennia and reveals a little-known story linking Moutai with the Red Army.

The Moutai Chinese Liquor Culture City, Photo by Bastille Post

During the Long March, the Red Army was short of medical supplies. Many soldiers suffered from foot ulcers and infected wounds. The sauce-aroma baijiu produced in Maotai Town, with its high alcohol content and strong antibacterial properties, was temporarily requisitioned for disinfection. Soldiers used cloth soaked in the liquor to clean wounds or rub swollen feet to relieve fatigue. Leaders including Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao later recalled on many occasions that Moutai "made a great contribution" during the Long March.

The Moutai cartoon mascot, Photo by Bastille Post

Leaving the exhibition hall, the delegation arrived at the Maotai Ferry, walked onto the Red Army Bridge, and gazed down at the flowing Chishui River, gaining a deeper appreciation of the immense challenge posed by the "Four Crossings." Just as Moutai undergoes nine distillations, eight fermentations and seven extractions, taking more than five years to reach maturity, the Long March, too, was a journey of endurance and resilience, step by step over time.

Photo by Bastille Post