Report reveals blooms of beautiful countryside

Meitan

Meitan county in Guizhou province has built a rural vitalization model centered on tea, turning former barren hills into plantations, production bases into scenic areas, and a traditional agricultural county into one of China's leading tea-growing regions.

The county, which administers 137 villages and communities with a total rural population of 161,300, once faced poor rural living conditions, weak infrastructure and limited sources of income. Through long-term planning, environmental improvement and tea-led industrial upgrading, it has reshaped both its countryside and economy.

Meitan's tea plantation area has expanded from 1,866.7 hectares decades ago to 40,000 hectares today. The industry now benefits 88,000 farming households and more than 351,000 people, and contributes to over half of rural residents' per capita disposable income. In 2025, rural per capita disposable income reached 23,000 yuan ($3,392), 37 percent higher than the Guizhou provincial average.

Environmental improvements have accompanied industrial growth. Rural domestic sewage treatment has reached 100 percent, rural household sanitary toilet coverage exceeds 95 percent, and waste collection facilities cover 94.6 percent of rural areas. Water quality at 82 rural stream monitoring sections is rated at or above Grade III, with no black and odorous water bodies reported.

The county has also preserved regional rural architecture by building more than 100,000 traditional houses in the architectural style of northern Guizhou, improving rural living conditions for over 98 percent of households. It was also among the first in Guizhou to achieve paved-road access for all administrative villages.

Tea has become the core of Meitan's green economy. In 2025, the county produced 80,000 metric tons of tea, with tea output value reaching 6.45 billion yuan and comprehensive tea-related revenue hitting 18.61 billion yuan.