Tongren, Guizhou develops matcha-themed tourism, boosting diversified income for the tea industry

Tongren, Guizhou is exploring a new path for mountain tourism by relying on the matcha industry. Located at 27 degrees north latitude, the environment of high altitude, low latitude, and frequent clouds and mist gives the tea leaves outstanding quality. However, Tongren has not stopped at selling raw materials; instead, it has developed tourism products around matcha that can be visited, experienced, and taken away. In the industrial park of Guicha Group, tourists can watch the entire process of matcha production from fresh leaves to finished products through glass windows, including steam fixation, low-temperature grinding, and aseptic packaging. At the matcha experience halls at the foot of Mount Fanjing and in Zhongnanmen Ancient City, tourists can personally grind matcha with a stone mill, learn the Song Dynasty tea whisking technique, or make matcha desserts. These experiences are not complicated, but they make tourists willing to stay an extra day.^[1]

This industrial tourism and experiential activity does not exist in isolation. Tongren's matcha-themed homestays provide guests with tea whisks and matcha powder, allowing them to brew it themselves; breakfast offers matcha noodles, and souvenirs are locally produced matcha desserts. The full-chain experience turns matcha from a beverage into a thread running through the journey. For local tea farmers, this change means more diversified income sources: in the past, tea was mainly sold as raw material, and prices were affected by market fluctuations; now, through tourism reception, homestay operation, and hands-on experiences, tea farmers no longer rely solely on the weather, as increased tourist flow directly drives tea sales.^[1]

Although Tongren's matcha tourism is still in its early stages, the direction is clear: it does not pursue large and comprehensive scenic area development, but rather deepens and refines the experience around matcha as the core product. According to local statistics, this model has covered 7 key tea-producing counties and 34 tea-growing townships, and has driven 44 tencha enterprises to achieve large-scale development. When tourists leave Tongren, they take away not only a can of matcha powder but also unique memories of tea whisking. This can of matcha may become the starting point of the next trip.^[1]