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Farmers pick tea leaves in Haiyan county, Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: zhongguohaiyan]

Spring tea recently entered picking season at the Lyuli Xiangming Tea Base in Ganpu town, Haiyan county, Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province.

Tea harvested after the start of spring (the first of the 24 solar terms) and before the grain rain (the sixth of the 24 solar terms) is generally referred to as spring tea.

The price of Mingqian tea, literally pre-Qingming tea, as it is harvested before the Qingming Festival, is higher than other spring tea because of its small yield and good taste.

The price of spring tea in the market is currently about 1,600 yuan ($232) per kilogram, which is similar to previous years. Generally, after Qingming Festival, the price of tea will drop by 200-300 yuan because the astringency of tea leaves increases after the festival, said Lu Ailiang, person in charge of the Lyuli Xiangming Tea Base.

The base has a 50-mu (3.3-hectares) tea plantation, and its yield is expected to reach 12.5 kg per mu.

Haiyan is the main tea-producing area in Jiaxing, with a tea planting area of nearly 2,000 mu. Haiyan has a long history of tea production, and its tea culture can be traced back to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960).

The spring tea harvest in Haiyan county is expected to last until May, with an overall output of 19 metric tons.