Wufeng tea culture wins national heritage status
2026-10-16 19:10:01
By Gao Qing
On October 14, Wufeng Tea Cultural System earned recognition as a Nationally Important Agricultural Cultural Heritage. It stands as Yichang’s sole inclusion on the newly released agricultural national heritage roster.
Nestled in the Wuling Mountains, Wufeng is one of the birthplaces of Yihong black tea with a forest coverage rate above 80 percent. It holds more than 220,000 mu (14,666 hectares) of tea plantations. In 2025, its tea output value exceeded 1.4 billion yuan (US$205 million), supporting the livelihoods of 74,700 local residents.
On October 14, Wufeng Tea Cultural System earned recognition as a Nationally Important Agricultural Cultural Heritage. It stands as Yichang’s sole inclusion on the newly released agricultural national heritage roster.
Nestled in the Wuling Mountains, Wufeng is one of the birthplaces of Yihong black tea with a forest coverage rate above 80 percent. It holds more than 220,000 mu (14,666 hectares) of tea plantations. In 2025, its tea output value exceeded 1.4 billion yuan (US$205 million), supporting the livelihoods of 74,700 local residents.
<caption>A view of Qinggangling Ecological Tea Garden
Wufeng gains this heritage status thanks to its intact living cultural chain. It integrates ancient tea gardens, traditional Yihong tea processing techniques, Tujia tea customs and the tea source of the Ten-Thousand-Li Tea Road.
Wufeng advances its tea industry toward full-chain development and higher value-added growth. Moving beyond raw tea sales, the region develops processed goods, cultural experiences and ecotourism. The Qinggangling Ecological Tea Garden and Yihong Tea Industrial Heritage Exhibition Hall have opened, helping sustain the vitality of this ancient tea land.
Jie Xingwei, Yang Liu contributed to this story.
