The green tea expo is a new draw of Zunyi, a well-known revolutionary city in Guizhou province. [Photo: China Daily]

Lovers of Chinese tea are flocking to Guizhou province, a place whose tea history dates back 2,000 years.

A green tea expo was held recently in Zunyi, the province's best-known revolutionary city. Besides 1,800 tea dealers and experts from all over the country, the two-day expo attracted about 10,000 locals and tourists alike.

One of the highlights of the event was a huge tea party held on the banks of the Xiangjiang River, which flows through the city. Rows of tables and chairs, stretching more than 400 meters, were placed along the river where visitors could try out the green teas for free, in a festive atmosphere.

The city is known for the 1935 Zunyi Conference, when Mao Zedong won the leadership of the Communist Party.

Green tea is the new draw of this old city, according to Wang Xiaoguang, mayor of Zunyi. The tea industry is poised for rapid growth, with the Guizhou government planning to expand its 86,000 hectares of tea plantations to 333,000 hectares in the coming years.

Many visitors to the expo also explored the rich tea culture around Zunyi, along six travel routes set by the local tourism bureau.

Meitan and Fenggang, the biggest tea producing counties in Zunyi, offered the best places to catch the tea production process.

Enjoying the beautiful landscape of these vast tea farms and sipping a cup of refreshing green tea were not the only treats of the trip. Visitors were also able to savor a variety of food made of green tea.

"Guizhou is a cradle for great green teas," says Wang Qing, deputy director of the China Tea Marketing Association.

While the variety named Guiding Yunwu was designed for imperial use during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Duyun Maojian won the top prize in 1915 at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, and Meitan Cuiya grabbed 28 golds at national tea expos.

Guizhou's green tea is rich in elements beneficial to health, says Wang. "Most tea farms are located at high altitude, low latitude, with less sunshine than normal. These create a favorable environment for the production of high quality tea," he adds, but admits, the region's tea processing techniques and marketing strategies "leave room for improvement".

Zunyi has a population of 7 million, distributed in 14 districts and counties, and depends heavily on agriculture.

An airport is under consideration but the area is well connected by roads. To reach Zunyi, you have to fly to the provincial capital Guiyang, and travel another two hours by car on mountain roads.