In recent years, Yiwu Town has deeply studied and implemented the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on the “Three Adjacencies and Three Goods” and the integrated development of the “Three Teas.” It has fully leveraged the role of Party leadership, combining the town's regional, resource, and industrial advantages. It is making efforts to explore the integration of Tea culture, tourism, and industry, comprehensively supporting rural revitalization.
Planning One Good Strategy
The development of the Tea industry is prioritized as a key focus for enriching the people and strengthening the town. A high-standard plan has been developed for the Yiwu Xiangming World-Class Pu'er Tea Industry Rural Revitalization Demonstration Park. This plan adheres to the model of tapping into unique features, integrating projects, promoting tea-tourism integration, and facilitating resource linkage. Two batches of local special bonds totaling 211 million yuan have been successfully applied for, enhancing the quality and efficiency of the secondary sector of the tea industry. While focusing on area planning, detailed point-to-line planning has also been carried out. According to the overall plan for the creation of a pilot zone for the integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors in the ancient tea mountains of Yiwu and Xiangming in Mengla County, the core village of Gaoshan Villager Group in Yiwu Zhengshan (Mansha) Ancient Tea Mountain has been prioritized as a demonstration project. The project plans to integrate government investment, social investment, and self-raised funds by villagers amounting to more than 50 million yuan, aiming to improve village infrastructure and build a livable and prosperous beautiful countryside. Subsequent developments will include the historical education base at Luoshuidong Villager Group, the traditional village of Shizijie, and the border idyll of Guafengzhai Villager Group, focusing on addressing the shortcomings of the tertiary sector and effectively linking the development of the park and the town.
Safeguarding Local Resources
To develop the industry means to protect resources. Emphasis is placed on protecting the ecological resources of coexisting tea and forest. Through guidance from industry departments and under the leadership of the town's Party Committee, an archive of ancient tea tree (garden) resources has been established, with different categories of protected areas for first-class and second-class ancient tea trees (gardens). The publicity and implementation of the “Regulations on the Protection of Ancient Tea Trees in Xishuangbanna Prefecture” have been strengthened. In total, 91 individual ancient tea trees and 28 ancient tea gardens have been registered, effectively safeguarding the 72,800 mu of ancient tea gardens in the town. Five villager groups have explored joint management of forest resources, generating a collective income of over 400,000 yuan annually, which has deepened the awareness of resource protection. Emphasis is also placed on the protection of cultural relics. Attention has always been paid to the protection of cultural resources. Construction of the Yiwu Pu'er Tea Culture Museum began in 2006, with the collection of over 600 pieces of authentic cultural relics, including the “Tea Mountain License” and the “Tea Case Stele.” Since the beginning of this year, the museum has received over 15,000 visitors and was awarded the title of Provincial Social Science Popularization Demonstration Base in Yunnan Province this year, becoming an important window for promoting Yiwu tribute tea culture. At the same time, based on the 106,500 mu of tea gardens and the 44 national, provincial, and county-level cultural relic protection units such as the ancient Tea Horse Road, Tongqinghao, Tongxinghao, and Mazhai Ancient Tea Garden, the town is exploring the integration of tea culture and tourism development, forming models like “tribute tea + rural tourism,” “tribute tea + health resort base,” and “tribute tea + cultural base,” bringing these dormant resources back to life. The museum and old brands are gradually becoming popular internet check-in spots for tea enthusiasts and tourists.
Benefiting the People
Efforts are focused on studying the brand construction of “Mengla Tea, Tribute Tea Flavor” and hosting the 2024 Mengla Tribute Tea Culture Festival with this theme. Activities such as retracing the ancient tea horse road, tea competitions, influencers visiting tea mountains, Pu'er tea exhibitions, and tribute tea culture forums were held. The entire tribute tea festival attracted over 20,000 tea merchants and tourists, broadening the sales channels for tea produced in the local villager groups and tea enterprises, generating direct economic benefits of around 1.3 million yuan. At the same time, e-commerce training is widely conducted, encouraging tea merchants and cooperatives to enter platforms like Taobao and JD, building an “online + offline” sales channel. Since 2023, the town's tea production has been approximately 3,100 tons, with a value of about 526 million yuan. While developing the tea industry, we are also actively exploring diversified income channels, establishing a mechanism linking the interests of village collectives, enterprises, and villagers. Relying on resources such as the Pu'er Tea Industrial Park, tea, and winter crops, industries are being developed. In Gaoshan Villager Group, businesses such as homestays, internet-famous restaurants, resort hotels, tea markets, and tea mountain leisure trails are being cultivated, creating a tea mountain tourism loop, advancing the integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors, and increasing collective economic income through multiple channels, with an expected increase of over 200,000 yuan.
Managing One Team Well
Strengthening the grassroots Party organization and consolidating its foundation are the cornerstones of development. The leading members of the town's Party Committee take the lead, with the principal leaders personally conducting research and participating. Members of the leadership team are stationed in all six village committees across the town, promoting the in-depth development of various work. Work is promoted by specialized teams led by divisional leaders of the Party Committee and government, with centers and stations working jointly with village Party organizations through combined themed party days, enabling cadres and staff to take the lead on the front lines and leaders to command on the front lines. A “five-fixed” responsibility mechanism is established, setting personnel, tasks, responsibilities, goals, and deadlines, transforming “battle plans” into “construction plans.” At the same time, the teams of Party members and cadres in village committees and villager groups are well managed, allowing grassroots Party members to forge capabilities and enhance skills in the construction of beautiful homes. Since the start of the creation, following the model of “Party branch leading, Party members taking the lead, and the public participating,” over 1,000 Party members and the public have participated in activities such as demolishing temporary structures, Cleaning up garbage, organizing internal affairs, and building small gardens, achieving noticeable results in environmental improvement. Since 2022, the town has constructed 16 border happy villages and five prefectural-level beautiful villages.
In the next steps, Yiwu Town will prioritize increasing the incomes of the people, further integrating industry, resources, culture, and rural tourism. It aims to form an industrial chain of “integrated tea-tourism, promoting tourism with tea, and invigorating tea with tourism,” striving to create a distinctive, high-quality, and warm happy town.