County in SW China's Guizhou province marches toward prosperity by exploring tea business (6)

A tourist picks tea leaves at a tea garden in Meitan county, southwest China's Guizhou province. (Photo by Tu Min/People's Daily Online)

By tapping into the tea industry, Meitan county, in southwest China's Guizhou province, has embraced a period of renewed and vibrant growth.

Known as a major county for tea business in Guizhou, Meitan has planted about 40,000 hectares of tea.

Its tea gardens are scattered in 15 towns and neighborhoods, encompassing more than 351,000 residents from 88,000 households in the county.

Last year, Meitan county produced 76,600 tons of tea with a production value of nearly 6.1 billion yuan ($940 million), which generated a comprehensive income of over 15 billion yuan for the locality.