Matcha cultivation generates wealth in SW China's Guizhou

Tourists take pictures and shoot videos at a tea garden on Jiulong Mountain in Bapan town, Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

A tea garden on Jiulong Mountain in Bapan town, Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province, was full of life on April 23, with the spring tea harvest season in full swing.

At a tea processing workshop, machines roared as freshly picked tea leaves underwent fixation and drying, transforming into raw materials for matcha production.

Nearby, a specialty industry park was turning out premium matcha powder at scale. Leveraging matcha as a core ingredient, Jiangkou enterprises have developed a range of products including matcha snowflake crisps, chocolates and craft beer, which are sold in more than 30 cities across China and exported to 54 countries and regions worldwide.

Jiangkou's total tea plantation area spans 160,800 mu (10,720 hectares), with 30,000 mu dedicated to matcha cultivation. In the first quarter of 2026, the county's matcha industry generated more than 130 million yuan ($19 million) in total output value. The industry has benefited more than 8,600 farming households, contributing to rural revitalization.

A child picks tea leaves at a tea garden on Jiulong Mountain in Bapan town, Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

Children pick tea leaves at a tea garden on Jiulong Mountain in Bapan town, Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

Tea trees grow at a tea garden on Jiulong Mountain in Bapan town, Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

Tea trees grow at a tea garden on Jiulong Mountain in Bapan town, Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

A worker sorts freshly picked tea leaves at a tea processing workshop in Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

Tea leaves are processed at a tea processing workshop in Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

Workers make matcha-flavored craft beer at a specialty industry park in Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

Workers make matcha-flavored craft beer at a specialty industry park in Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

Staff members perform a tea ceremony at a matcha shop in Jiangkou county, Tongren city, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)