Splendid Tea Industry in Badong County, Hubei Province

Tea planters were weeding in the tea nursery garden（Photo by Mengdie Yang）

At the beginning of June, 2018, statistics from the Marketing Center of Hubei Jinguo Tea Co., Ltd. in Badong County in Enshi Prefecture of Hubei Province manifested a 50 per cent year-on-year growth of company’s e-commerce platform sales in May. The majority of e-commerce tea consumption came from either customization or group purchase. Every batch of the Badong County Tribute Tea launched by the company, including its various specialty products such as the Little Orange or the Green Brick Tea had all been overbooked.

Staff member processing online orders (Photo by MengDie Yang)

It is introduced that, the positive sales situation of Badongtea in spring and summer season was attributed to the second China International Tea Expo that held in Hangzhou in May. In the Expo, Badong County Tribute Tea was favored for its green ecological quality. Its shape, aroma, taste, liquor color and phyllotaxis won the praise from both experts and consumers.

The increasingly popularity of Badong tea brought this county a series of chain effects. With Badonng County Agricultural Bureau’s support, Hubei Jinming Agricultural Company has developed into a key leading enterprise in the agricultural industrialization of Enshi Prefecture. According to Yuangang Zheng, the director of the Hubei Jinming Agricultural Company, the company has more than 1,500 acres of eco-tea gardens, and 200 acres of tea nursery gardensat present.Taken Hubei Jingmin Agricultural Company as the center, it plays a radiation lead role on tea plantation for surrounding mountainous regions with a total area of more than 3,000 acres. The company established an industrialized business model as: company + hosting bases + famers + markets + expertise +left behind labor forces.

Tea planters were weeding in the tea nursery garden（Photo by Mengdie Yang）

Tea planters were weeding and fertilizing in the tea nursery garden（Photo by Mengdie Yang）

Yuangang Zheng introduced that “the company’s one-day orders valued more than one million yuan during the days that we participated in the tea Expo in Hangzhou, and all of our staffs had to work overtime”. In order to expand and smooth the channels of tea distribution, the company has been operated under the pattern of “internet +” and it has distributed products throughout the whole country from both e-commerce platforms and sales stores. 

Factory of Jinming Company's tea nursery garden (Photo by Mengdie Yang)

The development of the prosperous tea industry has not only delivered Hubei Jinming Agricultural Company tremendous benefits, but also raised the household income for thousands of Badong farmers. Xinhua Qin, the villager from Jinguoping township of Jinping village, who is also the manager of Hubei BadongShaling Tea Company has deeply experienced this splendid chance brought by tea industry.  The series of ShalingMaojian Tea under the brand of Shaling Tea which registered by Qin was awarded the 9th International Famous Tea’s gold medal, and been given the title of “famous trademark of Hubei Province” by the Hubei Administration for Industry and Commerce. Qin adopted the “company + cooperative + hosting bases + farmers” industry development model, and has now rolling the development of green tea and white tea with more than 4,000 and 1,000 acres respectively, with more than 400 tea planters as employees.

The Badong County Party Committee and County Government insist on advancing the new concept of green development, wish to make every piece of tea becomes “golden leaf”. The rags-to-riches stories of Zheng and Qin were the vivid manifestation of Badong tea’s growing prosperity.

Badong County Tea Industry Leading Group and Badong Tea Association will use “Badong County Tribute Tea” as a public brand, and integrate the tea companies and brands that represented by Yuangang Zheng and Xinhua Qin to strengthen the market competitiveness during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. While supporting the local tea industry, Badong County Party Committee and County Government also introduced four major domestic tea merchants to Badong in 2017 for adjusting tea’s sort structure, breed structure, and quality structure, so that the tea varieties could be increased and the market could be expanded. The aim is to make every piece of tea becomes “golden leaf” and let its scent more widespread.