Matou village makes list of beautiful leisure villages in China

A tea plantation in Matou village serves as an important tourism destination in Kaiyang county. [Photo/kaiyang.gov.cn]

Matou village in Kaiyang county, Guiyang, capital city of Southwest China's Guizhou province, recently made the list of beautiful leisure villages in China in 2022.

The list has been announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on its official website.

Building beautiful leisure villages is an important way to promote folk culture, protect traditional dwellings, build beautiful countryside, explore rural values, and enrich rural economies.

In recent years, Matou village has been pursuing prosperity via the integrated development of its tea and tourism industries.

The village is located one hour from the city of Guiyang by car and is home to more than 5,000 mu (333.33 hectares) of tea trees.

In the 1990s, the village was poverty-stricken with an average annual income of less than 800 yuan ($120.93) per person.

With the help of tea tree planting, local residents began producing tea to drive economic development.

Two varieties of tea trees, namely "Fuding Dabai" and "Longjing 43", were chosen by farmers based on the local climate and soil conditions.

The tea is picked manually, and tea production is strictly implemented in accordance with organic tea standards.

While generating income by selling teas, Matou village has attracted many tourists interested in visiting tea gardens and the tea-making experience.