Wild tea harvest boosts prosperity in Qingyuan

A tea farmer picks wild tea in Qingyuan county, Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Tide News]

Qingyuan county in Lishui, Zhejiang province, has entered the peak harvest season for its high-mountain wild tea.

A picking festival was held on April 30 at the Yinping Mountain protection base, featuring ceremonies such as paying tribute to a 500-year-old tea tree and tea art apprenticeship rites.

Located at 1,368 meters, Yinping Mountain is home to ancient tea trees over 50 years old, with some dating back five centuries. Unlike manicured plantations, Qingyuan's wild tea grows in scattered semi-wild or wild communities above 1,000 meters. Tea from Yinping Mountain won a gold medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.

Qingyuan's wild tea spans nine mountain ranges, covering over 13,000 mu (867 hectares). This year's harvest from late April to mid-June is expected to yield 14 metric tons, an 8 percent increase from 2025.

Premium tea sells for 3,000 to 60,000 yuan ($440.03 to $8,800.74) per kilogram, while the "Shoujinya" variety has secured a 10-year order from Malaysia at 480,000 yuan per kilogram.

Qingyuan wild tea is exported to high-end domestic markets such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as to Southeast Asia and Germany.

Wu Yuanfu, an inheritor of Qingyuan's handmade tea-making techniques, said he hopes to promote the tea and raise awareness of the county's tea resources. The county has also introduced a traceability system that allows consumers to scan QR codes to access information about tea gardens and harvest times.