Employees of Shanxi Guanlin Agricultural Technology Co air forsythia tea in Yangquan. [Photo/Yangquan Evening News]

Founded in 2011, Shanxi Guanlin Agricultural Technology Co, based in Pingding county, Yangquan, North China's Shanxi province, is an agricultural enterprise integrating the acquisition, processing, production, sale, warehousing and distribution of agricultural products and Chinese medicinal materials.

Since its establishment, the enterprise has been creating a brand highlighting Yangquan's agriculture and expanding the domestic market by focusing on resource protection, process innovation, large-scale production and digital management.

Workers process forsythia tea. [Photo/Yangquan Evening News]

It now has several brands, including "Guanshan Yannianqiao", which is a series of wild forsythia tea products. 

Guanshan forsythia tea has been passed down for hundreds of years, and it was famous for being a tribute to the royal family in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The craftsmanship of traditional forsythia tea had been lost for many years but has now been rediscovered. 

Zhang Huaijun, chairman of the enterprise, together with other staff members of the enterprise, read ancient books, visited the folk tea makers in Guanshan Mountain area, and restored the traditional forsythia tea making process through trial and error. 

"In recent years, we protected some 166 hectares of wild forsythia, and built a forsythia tea research and development base and a forsythia tea production technique training center at the foot of Guanshan Mountain," said Zhang. 

In 2017, the traditional production techniques of Guanshan forsythia tea were palced on Shanxi's intangible cultural heritage list.

To achieve large-scale production and digital management, the enterprise has installed four new tea production lines.

The automated production lines have been equipped with an automatic control system for the production of forsythia tea. The system covers remote monitoring of forsythia plantations, process supervision, product quality traceability, order management, and sales analysis to ensure the quality of products. 

Workers package forsythia tea. [Photo/Yangquan Daily]

In recent years, the enterprise has also been promoting the Shanxi herbal tea industry. 

It has cooperated with scientific research institutes such as Shanxi University, Shanxi Agricultural University, and the Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, strengthened technical exchanges, and accelerated the practical application of research results. 

In 2020, the enterprise led the establishment of the Yangquan Herbal Tea Industry Alliance, which was joined by over 10 herbal tea production enterprises in the city. 

The alliance has accelerated the development of small and micro-sized herbal tea production enterprises by formulating a targeted industrial development plan and standards, building a traceability platform, and providing technical guidance on R&D and production.