The tea-picking festival kicked off on the morning of May 12 in the Shangkuang village of Rushan City, Shandong province.

It is reported that Rushan began to grow tea in 1966 and the tea plantation now covers 15,464 acres.

The annual output of tea in 2012 reached 260 tons, of which 160 tons were green tea and 100 tons were black tea; or of which 74 tons were spring tea, and 186 tons were summer and autumn tea. The total output value was over 1.5 billion yuan.

Young women picking tea leaves on the plantation. [gmw.cn]