On April 16, the Rizhao Experimental Station and the Application-Oriented Base of the National Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization were unveiled at the Rizhao Tea Science and Technology Innovation Demonstration Park. Wan Xiaochun, Director of the laboratory, attended the unveiling ceremony.

The Rizhao Experimental Station of the National Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization is the first experimental station of the National Key Laboratory established in cooperation with Rizhao City after Anhui Agricultural University, together with the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Hunan Agricultural University, was successfully reorganized into a National Key Laboratory. It will take a key step in solving the critical problem of tea plant germplasm sources in Rizhao and in bridging the last mile of transforming national-level research achievements, injecting strong momentum into Rizhao's tea industry as it leaps from traditional cultivation to technology-driven intelligent manufacturing. As an application-oriented base connecting a top-tier research platform with the front line of industry, it aims to transform the laboratory's cutting-edge research achievements into technologies that local actors can apply directly, thereby driving Rizhao's tea industry toward standardized, intelligent and high-value development.

As a successful model of Shandong's initiative to bring tea from the south to the north and the core production area of Rizhao green tea, Lanshan District of Rizhao currently has 162,000 mu of tea gardens and more than 300 tea enterprises, forming a complete industrial system integrating cultivation, processing, research and development, cultural tourism and sales. In 2025 it ranked 28th among key tea-producing counties nationwide, becoming an influential green tea production base and industrial cluster in Shandong and across the country.

The establishment of the Rizhao Experimental Station and the Application-Oriented Base in Lanshan will strongly drive the leapfrog improvement of Lanshan's tea industry in core technologies, product quality, the industrial chain and brand standards, providing solid support for building a national highland for tea industry scientific and technological innovation, industrial integration and brand leadership.