West Lake Longjing Tea. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Regulations on the protection and management of West Lake Longjing Tea have recently been approved by the Hangzhou People's Congress and will take effect on March 1, 2022.

The regulations state that only tea that is packaged with a specialized West Lake Longjing Tea icon will be recognized as quality goods. The icon can be used by tea producers via the West Lake Longjing Tea digital management system at a designated time period every year. It can list information such as the origin of fresh tea leaves, tea varieties, and the picking and processing of the tea.

The regulations also stipulate that the icon should be posted in a prominent position on the packaging as well as on promotional pages. Private exchange of the icon is not allowed, and individuals who do so will be fined up to 10,000 yuan ($1,572) and companies up to 50,000 yuan.

No individual or company is allowed to forge or sell forged icons. Illegal income of more than 50,000 yuan will be fined up to five times the illegal amount, and if the amount is less than 50,000 yuan, the fine will not exceed 200,000 yuan.

The West Lake Longjing Tea digital management system is currently under maintenance and will soon be connected with the Hangzhou City Brain to realize intelligent and real-time online management.