On August 10, 2026, Ya'an, Sichuan — the hometown of Panda Tea — welcomed a heartwarming encounter across mountains and seas. China COSCO Shipping Corporation and the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda officially launched the "Panda Captain Protects the Homeland" public welfare initiative at the Ya'an base, honoring the guardians of the national treasure with a series of special gifts and bringing new vitality to this land that carries both the "hometown of giant pandas" and the "origin of world tea culture."

The Panda Ecological Tea Mountain in Dingfeng Village, Ya'an, is where the PandaTea brand began. Since 2011, An Yanshi, an environmentalist and panda-calligraphy artist, has turned waste into treasure by recycling giant pandas' bamboo-based droppings into natural organic fertilizer that nourishes the tea garden soil. A single tea leaf thus meets the national treasure panda in an ecological cycle, giving the most vivid expression to Ya'an's dual heritage as the "birthplace of world tea culture" and the "hometown of giant pandas."

Over the years, Panda Tea has drawn global attention. From Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press to Reuters and the BBC, Panda Tea's story has traveled across oceans and spread its fragrance worldwide. This past August alone, the eco tea land has seen a stream of good news: a sterile cold-filling production line with an annual capacity of 43,000 tonnes is being installed at the Ya'an Economic Development Zone's Tibetan tea industrial park, expected to be fully in place by the end of August and officially operational in October — bringing Panda Tea's new-style tea drinks to a broader market at scale.

From "Panda Captain" guarding the panda homeland to new-style tea drinks poised for launch, Panda Tea is writing a new chapter of China's ecological tea as a national calling card, serving the charm of oriental tea to the global table.