Talia Tourism CEO Zhou Dongni Appointed Yingde Tea Overseas Ambassador
In Saudi Arabia, black tea is an indispensable part of daily life.
The first cup of the morning, the first pot served to guests in the afternoon, and even the cup of hot tea with saffron or cardamom handed across the negotiating table — in Saudi Arabia, tea is not simply a drink, but a form of etiquette and a gesture of goodwill.
As a travel brand deeply rooted in the Middle East for many years, Talia Tourism has long held a vision: to bring truly fine Chinese products to the Middle East in a way that resonates with local people.
On 28 March this year, through an opportunity that was at once chance and destiny, we travelled to Yingde in Guangdong as invited guests of the 8th First Flush Season of Yingde Black Tea, and saw with our own eyes the ten-billion-yuan industrial strength of this Chinese “hometown of black tea”.
At Hongqi Tea Factory — an old tea factory and industrial heritage site with more than 60 years of history — we attended the 8th First Flush Season of Yingde Black Tea. It was also there that we had the honour of receiving a weighty letter of appointment from the leaders of Yingde City:
Zhou Dongni, General Manager of Talia Tourism, was officially appointed “Overseas Promotion Ambassador for Yingde Black Tea”.
Saudi Arabia, as a core hub of the Middle East and a land of openness under Vision 2030, is becoming a golden gateway for Chinese culture and products going global. The royal families and high-end communities of the Middle East have deep-rooted consumption habits and huge market demand for premium black tea, such as the renowned Middle Eastern black tea.
Tea cultivation in Yingde can be traced back more than 1,600 years. In 2025, the output value of the entire Yingde Black Tea industrial chain exceeded 10.2 billion yuan, and its brand value rose to first place among black teas in China. These are not empty figures; behind them lie the solid accumulation of more than 180,000 mu of tea gardens, nearly 900 tea enterprises and more than 150,000 practitioners.
Talia Tourism has been deeply engaged in the high-end tourism market of the Middle East for many years, with an extensive service network covering the royal families, business circles and elite groups.
This appointment is more than a simple commercial cooperation; it is a mutual commitment as cultural envoys. It will serve as a “mobile bridge” to deliver the mellow and rich flavor of Yingde Black Tea precisely to tea tables across the Middle East.
Yingde Black Tea has a profound historical heritage, and its birthplace, Hongqi Tea Factory, carries the glory of China’s industrial heritage. We believe that whether served as a welcome tea in high-end hotels or given as a gift on social occasions, Yingde Black Tea fully has the quality and the story to win over the Middle East market.
As Chen Longxing, Secretary of the Yingde Municipal Party Committee, said, Yingde is building a preferred destination for industrial cooperation around the Greater Bay Area with the rigorous work style of “Five Dos and Four Zeros”. This collaboration with Talia Tourism is a key move for Yingde in pursuing the integrated development of tea culture, tea industry and tea technology, and in building up its signature local product with an international vision.
From the temple bells of the Southern Dynasties 1,600 years ago to the formulation of the broken black tea standard at Hongqi Tea Factory in 1958; from the ten-billion-yuan breakthrough in 2025 to the appointment with the Middle East across ten thousand miles in 2026.
A single leaf carries a “golden rice bowl” for rural revitalisation as well as a “Chinese calling card” of cultural confidence. For Zhou Dongni, General Manager of Talia Tourism, this appointment is not only an honour, but also a responsibility.
“One sip of freshness, and the fine spring is not betrayed.” This springtime lies not only over the rolling tea mountains of Yingde, but also on the starlit sea where Yingde Black Tea sets sail for the world.
Congratulations to Yingde Black Tea! Congratulations to Ms Zhou Dongni, General Manager of Talia Tourism!
Let us look forward together to the day when this “golden leaf” of a ten-billion-yuan industry soon becomes a “leaf of friendship” fragrant across Saudi Arabia!