OUC students are rooted in many professions, police officers, diligent industrial workers, rural entrepreneurs leading villagers to prosperity, healthcare workers guarding lives, border defence soldiers, and courageous individuals overcoming disabilities, to name just a few. The "Honour Rolls" series brings you closer to outstanding students, showcasing their excellence and the spirit of perseverance.
ZHENG Guohua, from Fu'an, Fujian, is a Senior Tea Processing Engineer and an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Tanyang Gongfu tea-making (a prestigious Fujian black tea with over 150 years of history) techniques. He is a student in the Fall 2023 Administrative Management programme at Fujian Open University and a recipient of the 2024 OUC Scholarship. Currently, he serves as General Manager of Fu'an Keming Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. and as a director of the Fu'an Tea Industry Association. He is an expert receiving the State Council Special Government Allowance and has been honoured with titles including "National Technical Expert," "National Individual Advanced in Assisting Rural Revitalisation and Poverty Alleviation," and "Fujian Provincial May 1st Labour Medal."
Diligent Learning and Thoughtful Practice: Enhancing Competence Through Unity of Knowledge and Action
"To achieve steady and sustainable growth of the tea industry, we must master both techniques and management." This is ZHENG’s profound insight from years of dedication to tea. Born and raised in a tea-growing region, he has been surrounded by tea since childhood. At the age of twenty, he began studying tea plant breeding and tea-making techniques under the renowned Chinese tea breeding expert, Researcher GUO Jichun. Through long-term industrial practice, ZHENG deeply understood that traditional experience must be combined with scientific management to break through development bottlenecks. Thus, he enrolled at Fujian Open University to pursue Public Administration. During his studies, he successfully integrated the systematic knowledge of public administration with the practical realities of tea industry development. With diligent and hardworking attitude and outstanding academic performance, ZHENG received the 2024 OUC Scholarship. Supported by professional knowledge, he has deeply integrated exquisite tea-making skills with scientific management thinking, continuously injecting momentum into serving the high-quality development of the tea industry.
Upholding Tradition and Innovating: Revitalising Intangible Cultural Heritage
As an inheritor of the national-level intangible cultural heritage representative project—Tanyang Gongfu tea-making techniques, ZHENG has always adhered to core refined processing methods. He abides by intangible cultural heritage technical standards and insists that fresh leaves never touch the ground, constantly observing changes in the shape, colour, taste, and moisture content of tea leaves during processing so that he can promptly optimise environmental and process parameters and precisely control every step to master traditional techniques to perfection. To solve the long-standing problem of astringency and bitterness when making green, red, and white teas from tender shoots of oolong tea varieties—a major obstacle to diversifying the tea industry—ZHENG creatively resolved the cross-category astringency problem through countless trials. His invention patents, including the White Peony tea and its processing method, have been granted national authorisation. He also participated in the breeding and promotion of national-level fine tea plant varieties such as Jin Mudan (Golden Peony, a nationally certified fine tea plant variety), developing various tea products including the floral Tanyang Gongfu "Chuntaoxiang" (Spring Peach Aroma) using high-aroma varieties, and has won over 30 domestic gold awards, making the quality characteristics of Tanyang Gongfu tea—"high aroma, mellow taste, and beautiful shape"—a market benchmark. In 2020, he represented Fujian Province in the tea processing competition of the National Agricultural Industry Vocational Skills Competition, where he won second place and received the title of "National Technical Expert."
Empowering Through Science and Innovation: Adding Momentum to Industrial Upgrading
With his outstanding technical contributions, ZHENG was recognised as an expert receiving the State Council Special Government Allowance. He has cumulatively applied for 12 invention patents and software copyrights, published 11 professional papers, and continuously transformed scientific research achievements into industrial momentum. The Fujian Provincial Zheng Guohua Skills Master Studio he leads, converts technical innovation experience into teaching resources. He is appointed as a mentor for the Tea Processing Specialist Training Programme of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Tea Research Institute and as a practical training mentor for Fujian Rural Revitalisation "Head Goose" (Leading Talent) Programme, rooting the concept of revitalising tea through science and innovation in the hearts of more tea practitioners.
Dedicated to Assisting Farmers: Demonstrating Commitment to Rural Revitalisation
ZHENG spends his days traveling between tea gardens and processing workshops, bringing new technologies and techniques to tea farmers' doorsteps. He always carries the mission of increasing tea farmers' income and revitalising the industry on his shoulders, practicing his original aspiration of assisting farmers through his actions. Through apprenticeship, he unreservedly passes on his knowledge, experience, and techniques to those involved in tea, with multiple disciples receiving titles such as "Youth Post Expert" and "Tea Master." He has cumulatively held over 40 tea skills training sessions, training more than 1,800 participants. Besides, ZHENG promotes the introduction of Tanyang Gongfu intangible cultural heritage into schools, allowing young people to experience the charm of intangible cultural heritage and injecting youthful vitality into its inheritance.
From an outstanding student at Fujian Open University to a backbone technical force in the tea industry, from an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage upholding tradition and innovating, to a leader in rural revitalisation—over two decades of cultivation on the tea path, ZHENG is writing a moving chapter of "tea for prosperity, tea for wealth" on the tea mountains of eastern Fujian. In the future, he will carry forward intangible cultural heritage techniques with a more steadfast original aspiration and assist rural revitalisation through more pragmatic actions, carrying the century-old legacy of Tanyang Gongfu tea across the seas, and infusing the tea mountains of eastern Fujian with new vitality.
By OUC
Published: 16 April 2026