STORY: How white tea spurs prosperity to China's Fuding | Sunny's Spotlight
SHOOTING TIME: November 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 2, 2023
LENGTH: 00:2:35
LOCATION: NINGDE, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Fuding
2. STANDUP (English): SUNNY ZHOU, Xinhua correspondent
3. various of Boyang Village
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG QIUXIANG, Instructor of rural revitalization in Boyang Village
5. various of Fuding
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): SHAO KEPING, General manager, Fuding Pinpin Tea Co., Ltd.
7. various of Fuding
8. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): CAI MEISHENG, Director of the standing committee of Fuding City's People's Congress
9. various of Fuding
 
STORYLINE:
In China's Fujian Province, Fuding City is known as a "land of white tea."
 
Two thirds of the population here is engaged in businesses related to white tea, one of the six major types of tea in China.
 
As tea becomes an integral part of life, locals have their own approach of maximizing its values to foster social and economic development.

How white tea spurs prosperity to China's Fuding | Sunny's Spotlight

Boyang Village
Fuding City
Fujian, China

STANDUP (English): SUNNY ZHOU, Xinhua correspondent
"Now we've arrived at the mountainous Fuding.
In this village named Boyang, I've learnt (even) tea-drinking can help local cadres resolve disputes."

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG QIUXIANG, Instructor of rural revitalization in Boyang Village
"In our Boyang Village, when we are resolving disputes for villagers, we traditionally offer three cups of tea."

To address complaints arising from tea cultivation and production, the local government has followed a tradition of reaching out to the grassroots level, conducting investigations, and handling grievances.

Following repeated grassroots investigations, a government-led group was set up in 2007 for branding Fuding's white tea and nurturing the industry.

It was since then that the white tea industry in Fuding truly took off.
 
SOUNDBITE (Chinese): SHAO KEPING, General manager, Fuding Pinpin Tea Co., Ltd.
"The government followed the grassroots initiatives to support the development of tea industry in Fuding. Government officials came to the grassroots to resolve difficulties encountered by the companies during their operation. (For instance,) without government support in providing land, we wouldn't have been able to implement an automated and intelligent production assembly line. With standardized factory buildings in place, we could then explore how to overcome production bottlenecks."
 
With help of the government-led group, Fuding's white tea gained popularity before long.

STANDUP (English): SUNNY ZHOU, Xinhua correspondent
"Tea, as an industry, has injected new momentum to local development."

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): CAI MEISHENG, Director of the standing committee of Fuding City's People's Congress
"Last year, the output value of our white tea industry reached 13.891 billion yuan (about 1.96 billion U.S. dollars), bringing profits to about 380,000 people engaged in the white tea industry in Fuding."

Now, "Fuding White Tea" has been rated among the top 10 most valuable tea brands in China for 14 consecutive years.
Over half of Fuding's per capita rural disposable income comes from tea.