——Remembering Su Shumei, national women’s pace-setter, top ten figures in Chinese tea industry, and outstanding entrepreneur

By Lin Zhongwei

1.     We will always remember Ms. Su Shumei who devoted her life to making tea

Because of her love of tea, she started the Liubao tea business when she was in her 50s. Due to her hard work, Liubao tea has flourished into a profitable industrial sector for Wuzhou city. She also helped awaken the Liubao tea market of the whole country.

Now, her sudden passing has left the tea world in mourning. The Wuzhou Municipal Party Committee, the Municipal Government of the Communist Party of China, the Standing Committee of the Wuzhou Municipal People’s Congress, the Chinese Tea Industry Association, the Chinese Tea Industry Circulation Association and organizations from all around the world have sent messages to express their deep condolences.

She is the national women’s pace-setter, the top ten annual figures in China's tea industry, a member of the CPPCC of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, an outstanding female entrepreneur in Guangxi, the founder of Guangxi Wuzhou Maosheng Tea Co., Ltd., and former chairman.

The Chinese Tea Industry Association described her achievements as: "Ms. Su devoted all her life to tea. She was courageous to take on challenges, and actively fulfilled her social responsibilities. She wrote a new chapter in the continuous development of Liubao tea industry and made important contributions to the development of the country's tea industry."

Liu Zhonghua, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the "Father of Chinese Black Tea", called her a great female entrepreneur, who has made outstanding contributions to the industry’s revival, innovative development, cultural dissemination, and consumption expansion of Wuzhou Liubao Tea. She devoted her life to making tea and promoting Liubao tea to the world.  She will always be admired and remembered.

2. She is a tea person: devoting the second half of her life to "Liubao Tea"

For a long time, Su Shumei led Maosheng to actively participate in the tea industrial’s poverty alleviation work, and vigorously promoted the "agricultural industrialization consortium." Back in 2004, the road from Liubao Town to the tea mountain could only be accessed on foot. She contracted the tea plantation at a high price, and implemented the cooperation model of "company + base + farmers". She reported to the then mayor that the road condition in Liubao Town was obstructing the development of the tea industry. With the help of the 160k RMB donation from Ms. Su, the local government was able to repair the road to the tea mountain. This has revitalized the Liubao tea industry and lifted the local people from poverty.

Over the years, Maosheng’s charitable donations summed up to more than 14 million RMB. The company has helped over 15,000 farmers’ families out of poverty.

3. She has the heart of tea: "the heart of tea is the heart of Buddha"

Under Ms. Su’s leadership, the company independently developed the first full-process production line for Chinese black tea; Maosheng became the only tea company in Guangxi to be awarded the “National Agricultural Industrialization Key Leading Enterprise”. It was the only Liubao tea enterprise to receive the title of “AAA National Tourism Scenic Area". It is the only company of the Liubao tea industry to attend the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and the 2015 Milan World Expo. The company won the first international gold award in the history of Liubao tea. It’s tea is the first Liubao tea to be exported to the EU countries. It’s tea is also the first Liubao tea that was permanently collected by the China Agricultural Museum.

Facing fierce market competition, and various economic challenges, Su Shumei turned pressure into motivation, leading the company forward and thus setting Maosheng as a benchmark in the Liubao tea industry.

President Wang of the China Tea Industry Circulation Association sent this message of condolences: Ms. Su’s wish was for the Guangxi tea industry to flourish. She made great contributions towards it, and has set an example for us all!

Please remember a daughter of the land of Guangxi, tea person Su Shumei!

Thank you all for coming!

(The author is a member of the Central Committee of the Zhi Gong Party, an expert on political participation and discussion in the Guangxi District Committee of the Zhi Gong Party, and a member of the Guangxi Writer’s Association)