The first Guangxi Nandan Liulong Tea Culture Tourism Festival was held at the Liulong Tea Production Base in Nandan county, Hechi, on April 16, steeping its guests in vast amounts of tea knowledge.

More than 5,000 visitors and tea merchants from inside and outside Guangxi gathered in Nandan to experience tea culture by picking tea leaves, watching performances and tasting Liulong tea.

The festival was aimed at boosting cooperation between merchants and local tea growers, promoting Nandan's tourism and increasing locals' incomes.

As the location of the production base, Liuzhai town has planted six varieties of tea in total, covering an area of 3,500 mu (about 233 hectares). The Liulong Tea Production Base received the green food field certificate in June 2013 and was awarded the "Guangxi Tea Standardization Production Techniques Demonstration Base" a month later.

A mother teaches her daughter how to pick tea leaves in Nandan county, Hechi, on April 16. [Photo by Gao Dongfeng / hcwang.cn]

A girl in ethnic dress shows a freshly-picked tea leaf in Nandan county, Hechi, on April 16. [Photo by Gao Dongfeng / hcwang.cn]

Edited by Owen Fishwick