Zhangjiajie in C China's Hunan holds tasting event for local berry tea in Beijing

Guests participating in the berry tea tasting event are interviewed. (Photo courtesy of the organizer of the event)

Zhangjiajie city in central China's Hunan Province held a tasting event in Beijing on April 18 to promote berry tea, a specialty tea in the city.

Various activities were held, including performances, speeches by guests, a display of berry tea products, the signing of cooperation projects and a roundtable discussion.

Berry tea, which is planted in the Wuling Mountains in Zhangjiajie city, is rich in flavonoids and good for the throat and liver, said Zhu Fadong, Party chief of Yongding district, Zhangjiajie city.

While putting ecology first, Yongding district has set standards to guide the development of the local berry tea industry and made efforts to manage the tea brand to facilitate the transformation and upgrade of the berry tea industry.

Berry tea planting areas in Yongding district have reached 150,000 mu (10,000 hectares).

By the end of 2022, the comprehensive output value of the local berry tea industry in Yongding district had reached 2.5 billion yuan ($363 million), becoming the second largest green industry in the district.

Yongding district has actively explored new models to promote the integrated development of the tea industry and tourism. It also encourages local berry tea companies to collaborate with scientific research institutes in and out of the province to push for the high-quality development of the berry tea industry through the application of technologies.

Yongding district has set standards to guide the high-quality development of the berry tea industry. It has built demonstration parks covering 55,000 mu to promote standards on the green cultivation of berry tea in several townships.

More than 55 percent of berry tea produced in Yongding is sold through e-commerce channels and 49 companies in Yongding are engaged in the deep processing of berry tea.

Yongding has organized local berry tea companies to participate in tea and agricultural exhibitions in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and other places, and held a series of promotional activities.

The district plans to expand the planting area for berry tea to 180,000 mu and more by 2025, and build more than three berry tea deep processing centers. By 2025, the comprehensive output value of the berry tea industry in the district is estimated to surpass 10 billion yuan.