In Fuding, China, centuries-old white tea cultivation blends ecological wisdom and craftsmanship. Centered on the Lüxueya mother tree and natural withering techniques, this system integrates tea gardens with forests and crops, preserving biodiversity and supporting rural livelihoods. Deep cultural roots, rituals, and traditions reflect a strong bond between people, tea, and the land.

 

Global importance

 

The Fuding White Tea Culture System is a remarkable example of living agricultural heritage. It preserves the centuries-old mother tree Lüxueya and cultivates nationally recognized tea varieties such as Fuding Dabaicha and Dahaocha. It has also developed a distinctive processing method—natural withering without roasting—which makes it the only white tea practice listed as intangible cultural heritage in China. Alongside these innovations, the system upholds deep-rooted cultural traditions, including festivals, rituals, legends, and bamboo craftsmanship, all of which reflect the close ties between tea, nature, and community identity.

 

Centered on tea, which provides nearly 70% of household income, the system also includes crops, fruits, and livestock that contribute to food security and biodiversity. Its terraced landscapes and intercropping practices enhance soil and water conservation while regulating the microclimate. These features, combined with generations of local knowledge, form a resilient, ecologically sound farming model that balances productivity with sustainability—offering valuable insights for agroecological practices worldwide.

 

Food and livelihoods security

Fuding’s mountainous terrain and limited farmland have led local farmers to develop a diversified agricultural system centered on tea. Through ecological practices such as tea-forest-grass intercropping and organic fertilization, the system produces not only high-quality white tea but also a wide variety of other products, including rice, sweet potatoes, taro, bamboo shoots, fruits, mushrooms, poultry, and freshwater goods. Although tea yields are lower per unit area, its extensive cultivation makes it the core agricultural product. This integrated approach enhances food security, improves land use, and supports ecological sustainability.

 

Tea is the primary source of income for rural households in Fuding, accounting for nearly 69% of per capita income. Most of the tea is sold outside the region, making it the main driver of local livelihoods. The tea value chain—spanning cultivation, processing, packaging, and sales—employs a large share of the rural labor force. Its development has boosted the local economy, increased household earnings, and supported broader rural development by providing a stable and sustainable income source.

 

Agrobiodiversity

 

The Fuding White Tea Culture System features a rich diversity of tea cultivars, with 18 identified varieties. The most prominent, Fuding Dabaicha and Fuding Dahaocha, are nationally recognized for their quality and account for nearly 99% of the tea grown in the area. Other varieties, such as Gelecha and Zaofengchun, serve mainly as germplasm resources and occupy limited cultivation space. Tea gardens in the heritage site also support intercropping with leguminous crops such as soybeans and cowpeas, as well as fruit trees like waxberry, tangerine, and orange. Additionally, livestock such as chickens and sheep are raised within the gardens, enriching the soil, reducing pests and weeds, and enhancing the overall biodiversity of the system.

 

The site’s forests play a crucial role in conserving soil and water and supporting a stable and diverse ecosystem. Through natural farming and intercropping models like tea-forest and tea-grass systems, the landscape provides habitats for a wide range of species. Strategic planting and water retention features further strengthen the ecological function of the tea gardens, ensuring long-term sustainability.

 

Local and traditional knowledge systems 

 

The Fuding White Tea Culture System is an integrated agroecological model that combines tea cultivation with forest and grassland elements through intercropping practices such as the “tea-forest-grass” approach. By converting underused forests and orchards into productive tea gardens, the system balances environmental sustainability with market needs. This land use model enhances biodiversity, reduces pest and disease pressure, and supports soil and water conservation. It also enriches the local food supply through the integration of crops and livestock, creating a multifunctional landscape that serves both ecological and livelihood functions.

 

Tea gardens in Fuding are built as terraces along hillsides to reduce erosion and conserve nutrients. Farmers follow specific guidelines for site selection, soil conditions, and planting density to ensure optimal growth. Propagation is carried out using a precise “single node cutting” method, with planting scheduled to avoid direct sunlight for better seedling establishment. Additional techniques such as straw mulching and rainwater storage ponds help regulate moisture and enhance drought resilience. Traditional white tea production—particularly the withering and drying stages—is adapted to local conditions and raw materials, reflecting generations of accumulated knowledge.

 

Culture, value systems, and social organization

 

The Fuding White Tea Culture System is deeply rooted in centuries-old customs and beliefs that have developed through the cultivation, processing, and consumption of white tea. Rituals such as "Bitter Tea," "Daughter Tea," and "Bǎ Tea" reflect the social and spiritual roles of tea in local life, while idioms like “Tea is the elder brother, rice is the younger one” highlight its central role in daily culture. Celebrations such as the Tea Opening Festival and Taimu Blessing Day honor these traditions, as do legends like that of Goddess Taimu, who is believed to have discovered white tea and used it for healing. Folk songs, poems, and tea ceremonies—particularly those of the Shē ethnic group—enrich local heritage, blending tea culture with spiritual reverence and community identity.

 

Fuding’s mountainous environment has shaped a unique agricultural culture, particularly through the use of bamboo in farming and tea production. Skilled artisans known as mièjiàng craft bamboo tools such as baskets, hats, and sieves used in tea cultivation and processing, reflecting the community’s ingenuity and close relationship with nature. Historically, tea trade flourished through networks like the “36 Tea Houses” and the Ancient White Tea Road. Today, these traditional trade models have evolved into formalized tea markets, with major centers such as the Diantou Tea-and-Flower Market and Taimu Mountain’s Ocean Specialty Street supporting local commerce and sustaining the legacy of Fuding’s white tea economy.

 

Landscape features

 

The Fuding White Tea heritage site presents a mosaic of land uses shaped by its mountainous and coastal geography. Forests cover 60.55% of the area and serve as a foundation for ecological protection. Tea gardens, which occupy 19.26%, are the primary agricultural land type and are strategically located in mid-slope zones ideal for tea cultivation. Additional land uses include croplands (8.38%) for food production and built-up areas (7.83%) that support residential life and local industries. This spatial organization reflects a well-adapted land use model in which each type serves distinct ecological, economic, or social functions, forming an integrated and functional heritage system.

 

The site’s vertically layered structure allows for the efficient use of natural resources such as light, heat, water, and nutrients. Forests at higher elevations contribute to soil and water conservation, directly benefiting the tea gardens located below. These gardens, in turn, support the microclimate and help regulate water flows downstream to croplands and villages. Intercropping models—combining tea with forest, grass, or flowers—create multi-layered ecosystems that enhance biodiversity, suppress pests, and improve soil and climate regulation. These ecological synergies increase the system’s resilience to environmental and market pressures, enhancing both sustainability and productivity.