The Fuding White Tea was showcased at the “Rebirth of All Things – Exhibition of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design” held in France. Fuding White Tea companies have also made appearances at events such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Astana Summit and the “Davos” International Economic Forum. Driven by both policy and market forces, Fuding White Tea has this year accelerated its international outreach, both through government-led groups and self-initiated efforts by enterprises, to develop and expand international tea markets.
The world's white tea originates in China, and China's white tea originates in Fuding. The official authorities of Fuding City, Fujian Province, stated that Fuding White Tea is continuously enhancing quality improvement through technological applications, industrial cluster development, and cultural support. These measures are aimed at strengthening the industry's intrinsic driving force and promoting high-quality capacity enhancement, all while striving to present a well-rounded image.
French guests tasting Fuding White Tea at the “Rebirth of All Things – Exhibition of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design.” Photograph by Cai Limilitary.
Going Out: Presenting an Image Abroad
In July, during the “Rebirth of All Things – Exhibition of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design” in Paris, Fuding White Tea was featured in the “Water” section, and a special international tasting session titled “Humble Respect” was held. Through demonstrations of intangible cultural heritage masters showcasing Fuding White Tea production techniques and tea art performances, international friends were able to experience the unique charm of Fuding White Tea up close from the tea art and Tea drinking.
With government-led groups, Fuding White Tea has entered countries and regions in the Middle East and Europe, and more tea companies are exporting Fuding White Tea overseas, with the international market expanding year by year. Statistics show that in 2023, Fuding White Tea exports reached nearly 600 tons, valued at $14.45 million; Malaysia is the main sales market for white tea, with 146 tons exported.
Fuding White Tea was selected for inclusion in the “China-EU Geographical Indications Agreement,” becoming one of the protected geographical indication products. The production techniques of Fuding White Tea (the only entry in the white tea category) successfully made it onto UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Fuding City was awarded the titles of “Birthplace of World White Tea” and “World White Tea culture Industry Science and Technology Center.” The international influence of Fuding White Tea is constantly growing, and the pace of “going out” is accelerating.
Nationally, Fuding White Tea is developing both public and corporate brands. Fuding City participates in large-scale national tea expos as a government-led group, hosts local tea events, and conducts multi-channel, multi-level, and comprehensive promotional activities, resulting in significant achievements in building the Fuding White Tea brand.
According to the local authorities, in 2024, the brand value of Fuding White Tea reached 7.066 billion RMB, ranking fourth among 131 tea regional public brands. At the same time, Fuding White Tea's brand-driven business is expanding further, giving rise to a series of leading brands such as Pinpinxiang, Lvxueya, Liuliao, Dingbai, and Guangfu.
The opening of the Minzhe Raw Tea Trading Market in Nodding Town. Photograph by Zhu Najhang.
Bringing In: Cultivating Inner Quality
Recently, the Minzhe Raw Tea Trading Market in Nodding Town, Fuding City, opened. The market covers 8,000 square meters, featuring a trading hall, shops, and storage facilities. It also introduced professional testing institutions and a quality traceability system to ensure convenient, efficient, safe, and standardized trading environments for both buyers and sellers.
Cai Qixiong, head of the Minzhe Raw Tea Trading Market, said that the opening of the Minzhe Raw Tea Trading Market marks a new phase of greater standardization and prosperity for raw tea trading in the Minzhe region.
In early this year, the Fuding White Tea Raw material Trading Center in Guanyang Town also started operations. Chen Jianwei, director of the Planning Department of the Fuding Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources, said that there is an increased focus on planning and layout of white tea industry facilities in towns and villages, emphasizing the coordinated development of urban and rural industries. With Fuding White Tea and other special industries as the core, they are strengthening industrial planning and supporting rural revitalization.
Improving internal capabilities and upgrading quality. Currently, Fuding City is gradually planning tea industry projects such as the World White Tea Center, the Jiayang Gongmei Hometown Tea Industry Processing Park, and the Panxi White Tea Micro-industrial Park, deepening the layout of urban and rural industries. This approach is driving the development of the Fuding White Tea industry, from tea garden planting, processing, and production to market transactions, towards full-scale standardization, scale, and industrialization.
Fuding City currently has 362,000 mu (approximately 24,133 hectares) of tea gardens, with 305,000 mu (approximately 20,333 hectares) available for harvesting. The comprehensive output value of the tea industry exceeds 15 billion RMB. This year, Fuding City further promoted the pilot program for the entry of collectively-owned construction land into the market, assisting in the revitalization and utilization of existing collective construction land in rural areas, accelerating the transformation of various rural production factors from assets to capital, and driving the tea industry into the “last mile” of rural economies.
The local authorities stated that Fuding City has implemented comprehensive ecological tea garden construction coverage first in the province, improved the Fuding White Tea Big Data Traceability Platform, advanced the establishment of smart tea garden systems in tea garden bases, and is gradually promoting the construction of intelligent warehouses. These measures are aimed at empowering the high-quality development of Fuding White Tea through science and technology.
Note: If there are any copyright issues, please contact us to remove the content.