The Chiu Chow Fenghuang Dancong Tea International Competition was successfully held on Saturday in Hong Kong, with four special gold prizes, eight gold prizes, 16 bronze prize and 16 awards of merits announced.

The contest was organized the Hong Kong • Art magazine, Chinese Tea Culture International Exchange Association, and Chaozhou Gongfu Tea Culture Institute, with support from several Chaozhou-related local chambers of commerce, hometown associations, and organizations from various sectors.

A total of 56 tea brands and varieties from 49 tea companies made it to the final stage of the contest, and the prize-winning tea brands were selected based on the appearance of the leaves, the color and fragrance of the brew, and their taste and texture.

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Fenghuang Dancong tea is a type of oolong tea specifically cultivated in the Fenghuang mountain region of the Chaoshan area in Guangdong province. It is customarily brewed in the Gongfu tea style – a traditional Chinese tea culture – among many who live in the Chaoshan area.

Wong Shu-yui, chairman of the contest’s organizing committee and honorary president of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce, said the Fenghuang Dancong is a treasure in the traditional Chinese tea culture, and by organizing this contest in Hong Kong, it was also meant to leverage Hong Kong’s role as a super-connector in promoting the tea culture between the mainland and the overseas.

Xie Hongzhou, chairman of the jury and director of the Chaozhou Gongfu Tea Culture Institute, said the contest winners were all judged by the rules set according to the national standards on oolong tea, and the competition was fair, open and transparent.

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The Gongfu tea has always been an indispensable part of the daily life of the Chaoshan people. China's traditional tea-making has been included in the intangible cultural heritage list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 2022.

About 200 people, including officials from the Hong Kong Special Administrative government, the Legislative Council members, academics from universities, media organizations, hometown associations and chambers of commerce, attended the award-presenting ceremony.