Taiwan businessman Li Chih-hung helped local farmers increase incomes by operating a tea factory in Zhangping, East China's Fujian province. His factory produced 49 metric tons of refined tea in 2019, generating 60 million yuan ($8.82 million) in revenue and resulting in an extra 3.5 million yuan in income for locals.
Li's factory is one of the most successful enterprises in the national Taiwan Farmers' Startup Business Park in Zhangping, in which industries such as tea production and tourism are becoming pillars of the local economy.
Hsieh Tung-ching, chairman of the park's Taipin Yinghua Tea Garden, said that the garden focuses on ecology, sightseeing, and relaxation and is expected to promote the diversified development of agriculture, which has helped Zhangping upgrade and transform traditional agriculture.
According to statistics, the Taiwan Farmers' Startup Business Park is now home to 76 Taiwan enterprises employing more than 600 Taiwan farmers. The park had an annual tea output of over 1,600 tons last year, generating 720 million yuan in revenue.
Local authorities have said that in recent years, Zhangping has been working to promote its unique industries and has carried out 20 projects, such as the creation of the Taipin Yinghua Tea Garden, which assisted in the high-quality development of a variety of businesses related to sightseeing agriculture, healthcare, and rural tourism and helped promote the integrated development of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas.