The photo, taken on March 13, shows tea farmers picking tea leaves to produce the Mingqian (literally "pre-Qingming") tea, which are made of the very first tea sprouts in spring and considered to be of high quality, at Xiabao Village, Tangxi Town, Zixing City. Currently the first tea sprouts in spring in the city have entered harvest season. Local farmers are busy picking tea leaves to ensure market supply. In recent years, the town has leveraged its advantages in climate and ecological environment to grow tea. Now the town has a planting area of 32,000 mu (about 2,133 ha.) and an annual output value of 360 million yuan. High-quality tea leaves have become a "green bank" for local farmers to increase income. (Photo/Guo Liliang)

The photo, taken on March 13, shows tea farmers picking tea leaves to produce the Mingqian (literally "pre-Qingming") tea at Xiabao Village, Tangxi Town, Zixing City.

The photo, taken on March 13, shows tea farmers picking tea leaves to produce the Mingqian (literally "pre-Qingming") tea at Xiabao Village, Tangxi Town, Zixing City.

The photo, taken on March 13, shows tea farmers picking tea leaves to produce the Mingqian (literally "pre-Qingming") tea at Xiabao Village, Tangxi Town, Zixing City.

The photo, taken on March 13, shows tea farmers producing the Mingqian (literally "pre-Qingming") tea at Tangbian Community, Tangxi Town, Zixing City.

The photo, taken on March 13, shows tea farmers producing the Mingqian (literally "pre-Qingming") tea at Tangbian Community, Tangxi Town, Zixing City.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunantoday