Have you ever seen a robot pick tea leaves? On April 11, the two-day "Luofu Tea · Baitang Fragrance" Boluo Spring Tea Season and "Luofu Mountain Tea" Intangible Cultural Heritage Carnival kicked off at the Ten-Thousand-Mu Tea Garden (柏塘镇万亩茶园) in Baitang Town, Huizhou City. During the event, a tea-picking robot plucked fresh leaves and interacted with visitors, showcasing a striking fusion of traditional tea culture and modern technology that became a highlight of the garden.
As a key part of the "Guangdong Goods Global Reach" Boluo Four Seasons Brand Promotion, this year's Spring Tea Season introduced a range of new tea-themed tourism experiences in Baitang Town. These included a trendy "tea & coffee" zone, an upgraded forest landscape at the ancient olive garden, and immersive activities such as tea picking, intangible cultural heritage-style tea frying, and tea culture study tours. At the intangible cultural heritage demonstration area, master tea makers recreated traditional techniques such as stir-frying and rolling, using wood-fired stoves and bamboo baskets to faithfully recreate ancient tea-making methods—drawing many visitors to watch and participate up close.
With a tea cultivation history of over 1,700 years, Baitang Town is the core production area of Luofu Mountain tea. The town currently boasts 43,200 mu (about 2,880 hectares) of tea plantations, more than 6,000 tea-farming households, and 58 cooperatives and tea enterprises. In 2025, the town's total tea output reached 2,449 metric tons, with an output value of approximately RMB 1.2 billion, accounting for about 80% of Boluo County's total tea production value. Deep integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries has become a new trend in Baitang's tea sector. Since March this year, visitor numbers to the town's Ten-Thousand-Mu Tea Garden have surged by over 20% year-on-year, with daily foot traffic peaking at nearly 80,000 during the Qingming Festival holiday.
Author | Liao Yuxian
Photo & Video | Liang Weichun
