A red bastion gets a green makeover

Villagers picking tea leaves on the hillside in Meitan county, Guizhou province. [Photo by Xing Yi/China Daily]

Zunyi City is a well-known tourist destination due its key role in China's revolutionary history, but its picturesque countryside also has a lot to offer visitors.

During the Red Army's Long March, a pivotal meeting of the Communist Party of China was held in the city in 1935, which saved the army from being defeated by the Kuomintang.

Yet "red" is not the only color that dominates the region.

In the surrounding mountainous region, you find endless green tea fields, wetlands and welcoming villages.

A 57-year-old tea farmer Xu Xueliang lives in Jinhua village of Meitan county, a 90-minute drive east from Zunyi.

Villagers like Xu have grown tea in the area for generations, and the tradition of growing tea in Meitan can be traced to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) in The Classic of Tea written by Lu Yu, a well-known tea scholar.

More recently, the Central Experimental Tea Farm was built here in 1939.

"Planting tea is hard work but it isn't very profitable," says Xu, whose family owns a 6,000 sq meter tea .

Meanwhile, since last year, villagers have started focusing on agri-tourism - combining tea farming with tourism.

"I renovated my home and opened a restaurant and hostel last year," says Xu, pointing to a two-story house painted in bright colors.

"A double room costs 100 yuan ($15). It's air-conditioned and we have Wi-Fi!" says Xu.