Agricultural-Heritage-Oriented Rural Revitalization: Experiences from the Ancient Tea Town of Xiping

The Anxi Tieguanyin Tea Culture System, as the proposed location of a globally important agricultural heritage system (GIAHS), has demonstrated the great significance of a network of heritage settlements and landscapes and supported rural revitalization and the participation and empowerment of women, based on agricultural heritage. Through fieldwork, participant observation, and in-depth interviews, this study attempts to analyze the experience of rural revitalization in Xiping. Firstly, the unique cultural heritage found within the agricultural landscape, formed by the multi-party linkage and dynamic adaptation of the surrounding natural environment by local residents, has shaped the Anxi Tieguanyin tea culture system of Xiping. Secondly, local residents actively participate in tea competitions and tea associations, so that the implementation process of agricultural cultural heritage preservation and development can be from the perspective of a shared experience. Thirdly, intangible cultural heritage features, such as the Female Tea Master Training Institute, have played a vital role in the development of tea towns and have proved conducive to women’s participation and empowerment. The results show that the agricultural heritage of the area, based on the Tea Manor and its multi-functional resources, has helped Xiping to move toward a more sustainable future, while eventually supporting a local society with a more distinctive rural landscape of which people can be proud. This system meets the need for local socio-economic and cultural development, and the promotion of the sustainable development of the entire region.