The seminar venue.
To further develop and strengthen cultural relic protection work and to make positive contributions to forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, on August 21, 2022, the seminar on “Ancient Tea Variety Protection and Germplasm Innovation” and the Small-Basket Fermentation Process Innovation Base — hosted by the China Ethnic Minority Cultural Relics Protection Association and co-organized by the Pu’er Tea Association, Pu’er University, and the Pu’er Huchuang International Center — was held at the Pu’er University Pu’er Municipal Public Entrepreneurship Training Base.
Attending the seminar were 23 guests: Mr. Yang Huashan, President of the China Ethnic Minority Cultural Relics Protection Association; Mr. Ma Wenhui, Deputy Party Committee Secretary and President of Pu’er University; Mr. Huang Guishu, former Director of the Pu’er Municipal Cultural Relics Management Office and a doyen of the Pu’er tea culture circle; Mr. Li Chunzhong, Dean of the ASEAN College of Pu’er University; Ms. Zhu Wei, Party Branch member of the China Ethnic Minority Cultural Relics Protection Association; Professor Li Chunguang, international strategy research expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Mr. Qi Zhi, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Ethnic Minority Cultural Relics Protection Association; Mr. Li Yungui, Vice President of the Association’s Ancient Tea Variety Innovation R&D Institute and Director of the Small-Basket Fermentation Laboratory; Mr. Li Hongtai, Deputy Director of the Research Department of China Administrative Reference; Ms. Qiu Yu’e, Chairwoman of Yunnan Mengku Daxueshan Tea Industry Co., Ltd.; Mr. Li Zhonghua, Vice President of the Pu’er Tea Association, General Manager of Pu’er Chazu Tea Industry Co., Ltd., and Vice Chairman of Yunnan Chazu Tea Industry Co., Ltd.; Mr. Han Xinghai, Executive President of the Pu’er Tea Culture Research Association, Deputy Director of the Tea Industry Professional Committee of the National Agricultural Products Processing Industry Development Alliance, and founder and Chairman of Zhongyunpu Tea Industry Co., Ltd.; Mr. Li Chunhui, General Manager of the Capital Operations Department of China Chengtong Group’s Guohe Asset Management Company; Mr. Chen Jiawei, Secretary-General of the Pu’er Tea Association; Mr. Shi Lei, member of the Jiusan Society; Mr. Xu Zhimin, General Manager of the Pu’er Huchuang International Center; Mr. Zhou Anfan, member of the Pu’er Tea Association; Mr. Wang Ying, member of the Pu’er Tea Association; Mr. Zhang Huajian, President of the Ning’er Tongxin Chamber of Commerce and Secretary of Nakeli Village; Mr. Wang Zulin of the Yunnan Provincial Tea Association; Mr. Liu Qiang of the Yunnan Provincial Tea Association; and Ms. Wu Siyi, Head of the Finance Department of Yunnan State Farms Group.
At the seminar, Mr. Yang Huashan, President of the China Ethnic Minority Cultural Relics Protection Association, pointed out in his speech that Pu’er tea and ancient tea tree varieties are a precious treasure of China’s ethnic minority cultural relics and a gem of relic protection, urgently in need of protection and innovation. Innovation in tea fermentation craftsmanship is also a kind of innovation; it opens new directions in tea drinking, brings Pu’er tea to an ever-growing audience, and better carries ethnic cultural relics forward in a way that touches people’s hearts. The active application of digitally controlled three-dimensional small-basket fermentation technology will bring Pu’er tea’s development great and lasting progress.
Mr. Li Zhonghua, Vice President of the Pu’er Tea Association, General Manager of Pu’er Chazu Tea Industry Co., Ltd., and Vice Chairman of Yunnan Chazu Tea Industry Co., Ltd., briefly shared valuable experience in making high-quality ancient-tree Pu’er tea. Since 2013, ancient-tree Pu’er tea has gradually become a new favorite among Pu’er teas thanks to drinkers’ preferences, and from 2014 many tea enterprises began producing and processing it separately. Chazu Tea Industry’s ancient-tree Pu’er making began on Jingmai Mountain in 2007, and through twenty years of accumulated experience the company has summed up a complete set of processes from picking and making to protection. The ecological environment for ancient-tree tea needs to be in areas far from human activity — Kunlu Mountain, for example, relocated entire villages to protect the environment. To guarantee the quality of ancient-tree tea, green and eco-friendly processing plants must be built for smoke-free production; Chazu Tea Industry replaced fuel with solar power. If the small-basket ancient-tree ripe-tea processing technology is successfully developed, it will be a great boost to ancient-tree tea production.
Professor Li Chunguang, international strategy research expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, gave a keynote speech titled “Telling the Story of Pu’er Tea Culture in the World’s Language — Using Pu’er Tea to Connect the World, Offering a Good Drink and Good Health.” He pointed out that thanks to the promotion of the Ancient Tea Horse Road and the ancient Silk Road, the world has gained a new understanding of Pu’er tea. The Yunnan region is the birthplace of ancient tea varieties, and in the process of developing, protecting, and utilizing ancient tea tree resources, new discoveries and inspirations have emerged — this is very important for promoting Pu’er tea and passing on Chinese civilization, as China continues to influence the world through tea culture. As the birthplace of ancient tea trees and ancient tea gardens, Pu’er must on the one hand do well in protection and on the other forge ahead with innovation. In the current era of targeted poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, combining the protection of ancient tea varieties with visits to and study of ancient villages, public-welfare introduction and training, aligning with the “three rural issues” policy, and promoting the integration of industry, academia, and research will advance the development of schools and enterprises and promote the protection of culture and of ancient tea trees.
Mr. Li Yungui, Director of the Small-Basket Fermentation Process Innovation Laboratory, gave a keynote speech titled “Serving the Upgrading of the Pu’er Tea Industry with Innovative Thinking in Craftsmanship — Reflections on Small-Basket Fermentation in the Industry 4.0 Era,” introducing the digitally controlled three-dimensional small-basket fermentation technology for ripe Pu’er tea. He pointed out that, compared with traditional ripe Pu’er fermentation, this technology offers flexible use of raw materials, shorter fermentation time, controllability and stability in the fermentation process, and greatly improved hygiene during fermentation. Digitally controlled three-dimensional small-basket fermentation raises enterprises’ production efficiency and quality, lowers the startup capital needed by tea enterprises, and even allows ripe-tea lovers to make quality ripe tea at home. Given these advantages, the technology has bright prospects for development.
The 86-year-old doyen of Pu’er culture, Mr. Huang Guishu, gave a keynote speech titled “The Value and Significance of Pu’er Tea Culture in Belt and Road Cooperation.” He pointed out that, as the “world’s source of tea,” Pu’er City’s Pu’er tea and tea culture have special value and roles in Belt and Road national development cooperation, and can bring honor to the motherland. Pu’er City is a border city in southwest China that borders the three Southeast Asian countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar and is adjacent to Thailand; historically it has been a frontier of opening up. In Belt and Road national development cooperation, at a time when people all over the world love drinking tea to keep healthy, Pu’er City — with “world’s tea source” Pu’er tea as its hallmark advantage — holds important locational advantages in opening up to Southeast Asia.
The China Ethnic Minority Cultural Relics Protection Association presented certificates of honor and letters of appointment to Mr. Huang Guishu and Comrade Li Yungui respectively.
The unveiling ceremony.
A group photo of the participants.
This was a seminar, a discussion forum, and even more a gathering of friends. Everyone spoke freely, and the atmosphere of exchange was warm. After the meeting, the participants gathered at Dingjiaqing in Simao District, Pu’er City, to unveil the base of the Small-Basket Fermentation Process Innovation Laboratory.
At present, the making of ripe Pu’er tea has always preserved traditional processing techniques. As more and more tea friends drink ripe tea, optimizing ripe Pu’er fermentation technology has long been the shared hope of many tea makers, and the creation of small-basket ripe-tea fermentation technology has comprehensively transformed it. Small-basket fermentation is built on the combination of old fermentation craftsmanship and modern equipment, achieving human-machine control with true operability, creating conditions in which beneficial bacteria grow well while harmful bacteria cannot. It enables three-dimensional fermentation, reduces the floor area needed for fermentation, and allows precise fermentation according to tea friends’ requests — achieving the feature of “one basket, one flavor for each person,” truly delivering the character of high-quality ripe tea. Digitally controlled three-dimensional small-basket fermentation will let more tea lovers taste high-quality, small-batch, single-origin ancient-tree ripe tea, and will lead more young people into a different world of ripe Pu’er tea.
Around 30 guests from the China Ethnic Minority Cultural Relics Protection Association, Pu’er University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Administrative Reference, various tea enterprises, the Pu’er Tea Culture Research Association, China Chengtong Group’s Guohe Asset Management Company, the Pu’er Tea Association, the Jiusan Society, the Pu’er Huchuang International Center, Baizhisi Village, Nakeli Village of the Ning’er Tongxin Chamber of Commerce, the Yunnan Provincial Tea Association, and Yunnan State Farms Group attended the seminar.
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Author: Lam Sam (LamSam), the Old Tea Head
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