{"id":14254,"date":"2026-10-26T22:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/?p=14254"},"modified":"2026-10-03T20:20:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T12:20:31","slug":"in-memoriam-former-general-manager-of-china-tea-corporation-shi-yunqing-passes-away-his-dream-was-for-chinese-tea-to-rise-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/2026\/10\/26\/in-memoriam-former-general-manager-of-china-tea-corporation-shi-yunqing-passes-away-his-dream-was-for-chinese-tea-to-rise-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"[In Memoriam] Former General Manager of China Tea Corporation Shi Yunqing Passes Away: His Dream Was for Chinese Tea to Rise in the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shi Yunqing.
At 20:00 on September 20, Mr. Shi Yunqing\u2014the former General Manager of China Tea Import & Export Co., Ltd. (the predecessor of China Tea Co., Ltd.) and the first Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China Tea People’s Association, who made significant contributions to China’s tea exports\u2014passed away in Beijing at the age of 92.
In 1952, Shi Yunqing graduated from the Tea Specialty School of Fudan University in Shanghai and joined China Tea Corporation that same year. From 1956 to 1963, he served as an attach\u00e9 at the Embassy in Egypt; from 1977 to 1981, he was the head of the commercial section at the Embassy in Lebanon; from 1982 to 1983, he served as the chief representative in Paris for a state-owned foreign trade company; and from 1987 to 1991, he served as the General Manager of China Tea Import & Export Co., Ltd. (the predecessor of today’s China Tea Co., Ltd.).
Shi Yunqing was a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. As a child, he moved to Hangzhou with his parents; growing up in a tea-producing region, he lived in constant contact with tea. In his youth, he often witnessed the monopolies and exploitation of tea merchants and farmers by foreign trading firms, which left the local tea farmers filled with grievances.
In 1949, China Tea Corporation was established. According to Shi Yunqing’s memories, cadres wearing red \u201cChina Tea\u201d badges arrived in the tea regions to guide production, organize processing, and purchase finished products; tea once again became a highlight of people’s social lives, and through the value created by tea exports, the lives of tea farmers improved. This gave Shi Yunqing hope and solidified his conviction to pursue a career in tea.
Driven by the deep affection for tea nurtured since childhood and having witnessed the positive impact of China Tea Corporation on the lives of local people, Shi Yunqing applied to the Tea Specialty School of Fudan University, founded by Mr. Wu Juenong, in 1950. This was the only tea-related discipline in the country at the time and was the first enrollment following the founding of New China. After graduating in 1952, Shi Yunqing was assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and subsequently directly appointed to work at the China Tea Corporation headquarters.
During his more than forty years of professional service, Shi Yunqing primarily worked in foreign trade positions within the tea industry. He conducted tea export operations in dozens of tea-consuming countries and regions, including Russia, Japan, France, and Australia; he also managed tea imports in producing countries such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and attended international conferences in the United States and Indonesia regarding international tea standards and packaging. During his tenure as General Manager of China Tea Import & Export Co., Ltd., he signed tea contracts worth tens of millions of dollars.
His long-term experience in foreign trade led Shi Yunqing to a profound realization: to develop China’s tea industry, Chinese tea culture must be promoted. To showcase the charm of Chinese tea culture to the world, in 1989, as General Manager of China Tea Corporation, Shi Yunqing and several tea authorities then based in Beijing decided to organize a \u201cTea and Chinese Culture Exhibition Week,\u201d inviting tea professionals from home and abroad, as well as representatives from tea factories and merchants. On September 10, 1989, the exhibition week opened in Beijing, with Xi Zhongxun, Yan Jici, and other leaders serving as ribbon-cutters. Representatives from over twenty countries and regions, including the US, UK, France, Japan, Morocco, Mauritania, and Pakistan, were invited to attend. Renowned calligraphers such as Zhao Puzhu, Qi Gong, Aisin Gioro Pujie, Dong Shouping, Tang Yun, and Liu Bingsen all contributed their artistry to the exhibition. During the exhibition week, visitor numbers reached tens of thousands, and a large volume of transactions was achieved, including tea export contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. It was a major event in the tea industry at that time.
For many years, Shi Yunqing has always cared about the development of China Cooperation News \u00b7 Tea Weekly<\/em>, concerned with the growth of young tea professionals, and has consistently dedicated himself to the development of the tea industry with unwavering determination. Through various interviews and exchanges with the all-media platforms of China Cooperation and Cooperation News \u00b7 Tea Weekly<\/em>, we can not only imagine Shi Yunqing’s vibrant spirit in his youth but also feel the warmth and kindness of this elderly gentleman. What remains unchanged is his sincere heart, which has devoted everything to tea, day after day, for decades.
Click to view: \u201c70 Glorious Years, Forging the Tea Dream \u2014 A Retrospective on the 70th Anniversary of China Tea Co., Ltd.\u201d
In 2019, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China, Shi Yunqing published an article titled \u201c70 Glorious Years, Forging the Tea Dream \u2014 A Retrospective on the 70th Anniversary of China Tea Co., Ltd.\u201d via the all-media platforms of China Cooperation News \u00b7 Tea Weekly<\/em>. From the perspectives of a tea industry participant, a promoter, and a witness to development, he recalled various moments in the history of the tea industry’s development. These precious fragments not only construct the context of the 70-year development of China’s tea industry for our generation of tea professionals but also encourage everyone to inherit, innovate, forge ahead, and create new eras of industry.<\/p>\n

Shi Yunqing posing with Wu Juenong and other tea professionals at the first \u201cTea and Chinese Culture Exhibition Week\u201d in 1989.
In his article, he wrote: \u201cWhat did our China Tea predecessors leave us? The predecessors who founded China Tea have passed away one after another, but the spirit they left behind is eternal, and their faith remains everlasting. They were a special generation that spanned the transition from the old to the new era following the May Fourth Movement. Their pursuit of \u2018patriotism and love for tea\u2019 was established and consolidated through personal hardships within a specific historical context. After the founding of New China, their patriotic passion and work enthusiasm were heartfelt actions. In the early days of New China, Wu Juenong participated in the organization of the CPPCC, discussed and drafted the \u2018Common Program,\u2019 and attended the founding ceremony of the PRC, serving as a member of the Standing Committee and Deputy Secretary-General of various CPPCC committees. After the establishment of China Tea, he immediately devoted himself to work, practicing his original intention of \u2018revitalizing Chinese tea\u2019 and \u2018serving the country through tea.\u2019 Even in his twilight years, he went deep into tea regions to conduct inspections, offer suggestions, and write proposals for the decision-making reference of relevant central departments. In his final moments, he left a message for his wife: \u2018I have spent my life on tea; I am a tea person.\u2019 This sentence summarizes his glorious life of struggle for the country and for tea. He was an outstanding tea professional, revered by posterity as a modern Tea Saint. After his passing, contemporary national leaders such as Li Xiannian and Deng Yingchuan sent wreaths in mourning. A promising nation and people cannot be without pioneering figures. To commemorate Wu Juenong, successors established the Wu Juenong Tea Science Thought Research Association, museums, and memorial halls. The thoughts and achievements of Wu Juenong and his predecessors flow forward with the development of the Chinese nation, bearing greatness through virtue and nourishing all things silently.\u201d
He held an indelible emotion for Chinese tea, acknowledging past glorious achievements while remaining concerned about the future. He wrote in his article: The seventy years have been a period of China’s tea industry re-ascending to the global peak; while celebrating these achievements, we also face many challenges, and the journey toward becoming a tea powerhouse is long and arduous. Today, the tea industry also faces a new historical starting point. \u201cHeroes emerge in every generation, each leading the way for decades.\u201d I believe that China Tea colleagues, under the leadership of the Party and higher authorities, will remain true to the original intention and mission of our predecessors in this new era and new journey, inheriting and innovating, transforming and improving efficiency, bravely taking on the responsibility expected of a leading enterprise, and committing to state-owned enterprise reform. To fulfill the great dream of national rejuvenation and to make China’s tea industry larger and stronger, we shall move forward in pursuit of our dreams and create new glory for China Tea.
In the late 1980s, China Tea Corporation was commissioned to lead and organize national tea exports. Through various efforts (especially with the strong support of Wu Juenong at the time, who once sent a special letter to the then Minister of Foreign Trade), export volumes reached 200,000 tons, far exceeding historical records and even reaching second place in the world. He stated that this was also a significant milestone in his professional career.
After retirement, Mr. Shi always remained attentive to the cause of Chinese tea and concerned with the development of Chinese tea, always encouraging the younger generation during exchanges to leverage their own strength and contribute to the takeoff of China’s tea industry.<\/p>\n

Xiao Qun, then Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Director of the Peking University Library, presented a commemorative certificate to Shi Yunqing.
To allow more young people to understand Chinese tea culture, in May 2016, Shi Yunqing donated over 1,000 precious tea books from his collection to the Peking University Library. Xiao Qun, then Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Director of the Peking University Library, presented a certificate to Shi Yunqing. These precious tea science books will all be made available to readers interested in tea, with the hope that through the collective efforts of all parties, tea culture research will reach new heights.
The veteran tea professional Shi Yunqing devoted his entire life to a single purpose: serving the nation’s tea industry. He sought no fame or fortune, no official promotion or wealth, and did not pursue high status, luxury, or fine food; throughout his life, he was diligent, hardworking, upright, and selfless. We feel deeply saddened by the loss of such a highly respected elder in the tea community. Let us honor Mr. Shi Yunqing with a cup of clear tea.
Produced by: China Cooperation News \u00b7 Tea Weekly All-Media<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Author: Lam Sam (LamSam), the Old Tea Head
ZENTEA MANOR
Alliance Supply Chain Services Limited
Unit 902-3, 9\/F, Mini Cube, 10 Sam Chuk Street, San Po Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
www.zentea-shop.com Email:info@zentea-shop.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shi Yunqing.At 20:00 on September 20, Mr. Shi Yunqing\u2014the former General Manager of China Tea Import & Export Co., Ltd. (the predecessor of China Tea Co., Ltd.) and the first Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China Tea People’s Association, who made significant contributions to China’s tea exports\u2014passed away in Beijing at the age […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-yun-tea-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14275,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14254\/revisions\/14275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}