Fu Xiaofang makes tea using leaves that were grown at her Five Mile Tea Plantation in Baisha Li Autonomous County, Hainan province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)
In 2008, ethnic Li citizen Fu Xiaofang returned to rural Baisha Li Autonomous County, Hainan province, after living elsewhere in order to pursue organic tea farming. She established a plantation on several hectares of cleared land, named it the Five Mile Tea Plantation due to the fact that it is located 2.5 km (5 Chinese miles) away from a meteorite impact crater, and began hiring local residents. The farm has gradually expanded to its current size of approximately 20 ha, and the tea that is grown there is sold throughout the country.
The Five Mile Tea Plantation has helped reduce poverty and develop the organic tea industry in the area and has been designated a National Women’s Poverty Alleviation Demonstration Base due to the fact that many people have been able to escape from poverty and become more prosperous by picking tea leaves, roasting tea, weeding, and engaging in other work at the site.