As summer flourishes, tea gardens in Pukeng Village, Shitan Town of Qingyuan's Qingxin District, thrive with vitality. Covering over 8,700 mu (around 580 hectares), Pukeng Tea has become a signature local specialty, producing over 320 tons annually.
Benefiting from the area's subtropical climate and high-altitude terrain, the tea is celebrated for its crisp flavor, smoky notes, and lingering orchid aroma, which carry it from mountain slopes to markets across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Pukeng Tea is made with precision and patience—tender leaves are handpicked at sunrise, wok-fired to retain freshness, rolled, and then roasted slowly over pinewood. This traditional technique imparts the tea with its distinctive taste and golden-green infusion.
Recently, a student team "CloudCraft Tea Pioneers" from the School of English for International Business at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies visited the village as part of Guangdong's "High-quality Development Project for Counties, Towns and Villages." Aiming to promote Pukeng tea culture, the team hosted lectures, launched live-streaming sessions on Douyin (TikTok China), and garnered over 12,000 likes.
Leveraging e-commerce platforms, the team helped boost tea sales by over 1,000 yuan in two days. They also produced multilingual documentaries to share the story of Pukeng Tea with wider audiences.
In addition, the team proposed converting an abandoned primary school into a tea-themed hub for entertainment, education, and exhibitions. The plan, now under government review, is expected to attract 5,000 visitors annually and create jobs for at least 30 local residents.
Author: Huang Qini
Editor: James, Shen He
Photo: CloudCraft Tea Pioneers Photography Editing Team
