This year's white tea picking season began on March 20 on the Hexin Family Farm in Jiangdong village, Shishi township, Kecheng district, Quzhou, Zhejiang province.

More than 10 kilograms of finished tea leaves can be produced every day during this period. The entire picking season can produce more than 250 kg of finished tea leaves with an average market price of 1,600 yuan ($233) per kg, bringing in more than 100,000 yuan in wage income to more than 20 local tea workers.

Since 2011, more and more laborers from Jiangdong village have left the village for work, and farmland abandonment has become a serious problem.

In 2014, to increase the village's collective economy, the village established the Hexin Family Farm using more than 300 mu (20 hectares) of idle land. Villagers can buy shares of the farm in the form of land or capital.

Since 2018, villagers with shares have been able receive a dividend of 10 percent per year. Other leased landholders can receive an annual rent of 800 yuan per mu, and 300 yuan per mu in mountainous areas.

Today, the farm area has expanded from more than 300 mu to more than 1,100 mu, which is used to grow tea, rice, fruits and vegetables.

Pan Genlan, a 72-year-old resident of the village, has been picking tea at the plantation for nearly three years, earning about 140 yuan a day. "I come to pick tea every March and April, and I can earn nearly 4,000 yuan," Pan said happily.

"I have 4 mu of mountain land leased by the Hexin Family Farm and can receive 1,200 yuan in annual rent. In addition to picking tea, I also weed and fertilize rice fields, helping me earn more than 30,000 yuan per year," said Xu Xiena, another resident of the village.