Lin said that it would be impossible to promote the idea of developing a favorable environment for growing organic tea in Fangjiashan without the primary-level officials' efforts to persuade local farmers not to use any pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

Now Fangjiashan has become a renowned white tea brand across the country with the annual average income of local farmers reaching 18,161 yuan last year.

Lin's Lvxueya Tea company, which owns an organic tea base of 100 hectares, has become a leading corporation in Fujian province that plants, processes, sells and studies tea, trains talent for the tea industry and promotes tea culture.

Working with agricultural cooperatives established by the local government to make unified purchases of tea leaves from farmers, Lin's company has attracted and encouraged more than 5,000 nearby farm households to develop pollution-free plantations to make organic tea.

"Unlike before, it's hard to find someone in extreme poverty here today," Lin said.

Now more and more villagers who used to work outside are returning home to take part in the white tea businesses.

According to Zheng, the village Party secretary, in the last three years, five merchants have returned to Fangjiashan due to preferential policies and invested more than 10 million yuan building tea factories in the village.

Former stone factory worker Li Zhaotie has been making organic tea with annual sales value of more than 100,000 yuan, and in 2017 he spent 1 million yuan on building his own tea factory.

"I would have made a lot of money if I chose to use chemical fertilizers, but I know I shouldn't damage the environment," he said.

"Only this way can my children and my grandchildren be able to live on the plantation and no longer suffer from starvation."