NANNING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Once a humble beverage for Chinese laborers in Southeast Asia, Chinese dark tea has now evolved into a trendsetting force in the tea beverage market across countries along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

"Drinking and storing tea has become a fashion in Malaysia, and Liubao tea is attracting a growing number of customers," said Liew Choon Kong, director of Kong Wooi Fong Tea Merchants Sdn Bhd, based in Malaysia.

Liubao tea, a Chinese dark tea known for its strong, lingering fragrance and medicinal properties, boasts a history spanning over 1,500 years. The traditional Liubao tea-making technique is also recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage subproject. Named after Liubao Town in Wuzhou City, Guangxi, the tea thrives in this region, where mist-covered mountains and a favorable climate have long made it an ideal area for tea cultivation.

Liubao tea gained widespread popularity in China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In the late Qing period, Chinese laborers traveling to Southeast Asia introduced this refreshing, stomach-soothing tea to local people.

Consequently, tea planting and trade flourished in Liubao. "At that time, almost every family cultivated tea. During harvest season, the entire family would come together to pick the leaves," said Jiang Yongchun, a local tea merchant.

However, transporting tea from the mountainous town posed a huge challenge for merchants. According to an article published in 1951, the tea had to be carried by small boats from a port in Liubao to Libu Town in Wuzhou, then transferred to large wooden ships bound for Guangdong Province. From there, it was transported by electric boats to Guangzhou for export.

The route from Liubao to Libu was narrow and rugged, and many boatmen were injured along the way. "We had to be very cautious of the water level and flow when rafting. If you weren't careful, you could easily break a bone," recalled Chen Bofen, a former raftsman from Liubao.

Liubao, once accessible only by water, now boasts paved roads connecting every village. From the ancient, rugged routes to the modern 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, trade routes between China and other countries have expanded significantly. Today, Liubao tea is distributed globally, thanks to an extensive network of land, sea, and air transport systems.

Data showed that the production of Liubao tea in Wuzhou increased from 17,000 tonnes in 2019 to 35,000 tonnes in 2023, while its direct output value grew from 2.5 billion yuan (about 347.8 million U.S. dollars) in 2019 to 5.5 billion yuan in 2023.

Liew said that his company imports over 100 tonnes of Liubao tea annually from Wuzhou. "It used to take several weeks between placing an order and receiving the tea. Now, with direct shipping from Guangzhou to Klang Port, the whole process has been shortened to a week," he added.

The local government has been actively supporting efforts to promote Liubao tea globally by organizing visits for local tea companies to countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and even the Middle Eastern region like Dubai.

"The acceptance of Liubao tea and Chinese tea culture in Dubai was beyond my expectation," said Wu Yan, a tea merchant from Wuzhou, who secured her company's first Liubao tea order in the city during her trip to Dubai. Enditem

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