The 10th Fuding White Tea Festival kicks off in Diantou town of Fuding city, Fujian on March 28. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 10th Fuding White Tea Festival kicked off in Diantou town of Fuding city, northeast of China's Fujian province on March 28.

This year's event was held via both online and offline channels, offering tea lovers a chance to learn more about Fuding white tea. An array of activities were held during the opening ceremony, such as livestream marketing and cultural performances.

Bao Jiangsu, Party secretary of Fuding, said that the festival is expected to expand the brand influence of Fuding white tea, promote the green and high-quality development of the city's white tea industry, as well as further accelerate Fuding's rural revitalization.

Official statistics show that Fuding had a total tea production area of about 300,000 mu (20,000 hectares), which generated 32,400 metric tons of tea, including 25,300 tons of white tea, in 2020. The city's total tea output value hit 11.95 billion yuan ($1.82 billion) last year, up 12.2 percent year-on-year.

The city currently has 167 leading tea-producing enterprises, including two national-level and 15 provincial-level ones. These enterprises have built more than 10,000 marketing branches and provided over 100,000 jobs to local people, playing an important role in promoting agricultural development in rural areas and increasing farmers' incomes.