Tea brews a way out of poverty for Yunnan farmers

"We found a water source in the forest and channeled it to the uncared-for farmland, and built a road," he says.

Then, Zhang began to hire poor peasants from neighboring areas.

More than 100 peasants were employed to remove weeds, plant tea tree seedlings and pick tea leaves.

Technicians from a tea research institute were also invited to teach the peasants how to do their jobs scientifically.

"For example, they had to know how to grade the tea leaves and put them into each category accordingly," Zhang explains.

Now, Zhang's team has expanded to 200 members, most of whom are migrant farmers. And they can each earn about 100-120 yuan a day for their work.

Meanwhile, two-story houses were built near the tea plantation for the workers to live.

"And many of them have settled there with their families," says Zhang.