Old and New Artisans Compete on the Same Stage, Demonstrating the Aroma of Longjing Tea at Its Peak!
I. Leaders and Distinguished Guests Gather to Kick Off the Skills Competition
Zhou Liangyuan, Chief Expert of Tea in Zhejiang Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Shen Lu, Deputy Mayor of Shengzhou City, introduced Shengzhou’s ‘Yue Xiang Longjing’ and sincerely invited people from all walks of life to Shengzhou to taste tea and enjoy the scenery. Deputy Mayor Shen Lu of Shengzhou City and Director Wang Meifang of Shengzhou City Agricultural and Rural Affairs Bureau delivered speeches. She stated that in recent years, Shengzhou has continuously made efforts in cultivating leading entities, innovating mechanisms, empowering with technology, and integrating tea and tourism, promoting high-quality development of the entire industry chain. Zhou Liangyuan, Deputy Director of Zhejiang Provincial Agricultural Technology Extension Center, announced the start of the competition.
II. Group Competitions with Added Water Content Testing
The competition focused on manual pan-frying of Longjing tea, divided into Newcomer Group and Peak Group. At the competition site, participants were assigned their order by drawing lots and had to independently complete the manual pan-frying of 1000g fresh leaves within 3 hours. The freshness standard for fresh leaves was one bud with two leaves, and the quality of the finished raw tea should be no less than 200g. Notably, this year’s competition added a water content testing section for finished tea, requiring the moisture content of the final finished tea to be below 6.5%. The winner was determined based on the total score of sensory evaluation and water content testing. Participants came from 18 production counties within the geographical indication area of Longjing tea in Zhejiang Province. The Peak Group had 30 participants, including 5 from the West Lake area, 10 from the Qiantang area, and 15 from the Yuezhou area; the Newcomer Group had 20 participants, including 3 from the West Lake area, 7 from the Qiantang area, and 10 from the Yuezhou area. Old and new artisans competed on the same stage, jointly demonstrating the inheritance of Longjing tea pan-frying skills.
III. Intense Competition, Winners of Each Group Announced
After a day of intense competition and rigorous sensory evaluation and water content testing by expert review panels, the winners of each group emerged. Zhou Liangyuan provided a professional evaluation of this competition, pointing out three characteristics: wide coverage of participants, high technical level, and excellent quality of the competition products. Finally, he announced the list of 25 winning participants and extended his congratulations to all the winners. Top Five of the Peak Group: Pan Zhengguo (West Lake District), Zhang Weili (Xinchang County), Xie Kangguo (Fuyang District), Wang Aihua (Tiantai County), Zhan Jun (Shengzhou City) Top Five of the Newcomer Group: Wu Jingwen (Shengzhou City), Shen Kai (Scenic Area), Huang Lincan (Shengzhou City), Bai Jiahao (Xinchang County), Fang Zihao (Chunan County)
Conclusion
Tea is an important historical classic industry for Zhejiang to achieve common prosperity through linking agriculture with farmers. Longjing tea is the benchmark of Chinese green tea brands and the most representative ‘golden business card’ of Zhejiang. In 2025, Zhejiang Province had a tea garden area of 3.275 million mu, output of 214,000 tons, and value of 31.53 billion yuan. This competition not only provided a platform for the exchange and display of craftsmanship but also promoted the inheritance and demonstration of manual pan-frying techniques of Longjing tea. As the competition continues to deepen, the brand influence and market competitiveness of Zhejiang Longjing tea will further enhance, injecting new vitality into the high-quality development of the province’s tea industry and rural revitalization.