Documentary of Guizhou tea to air

The three-episode documentary, Qian Cha (Guizhou tea), which focuses on tea in Southwest China's Guizhou province, will air from April 18 to 20 on China Central Television's (CCTV) Channel 10, the State broadcaster's science education channel.

The documentary tells the stories of Guizhou tea from its history, its relationship to the province's geography, and its impact on its residents, covering subjects like tea production methods, as well as folk customs, and social rituals tied to Guizhou's tea culture.

Tea picking in Southwest China's Guizhou province. [Photo/gog.cn]

China's first national tea research institution is located in Meitan county in Zunyi, Guizhou province. Tea has become the pillar industry in 43 counties in Guizhou and helps 500,000 poverty-stricken populations to increase their income.

As one of the origin places of tea, Guizhou has a long history of tea culture and tea drinking customs. During the 1980s, the world's oldest tea seed fossil was discovered in Qinglong county, Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture.

With inheritance and innovation of tea making, Guizhou tea masters use tea production to boost poverty alleviation efforts.