In Yunnan China, officials announced the launch of a tracing platform that will be powered by blockchain. It will start on June 3, and it is for the Pu'er tea farm. The platform was announced to the public during the 2020 Phoenix Nest Ancient Tree Spring Tea New Product Launch. This conference took place in the town of Kunming, Yunnan province. The plan is to use the platform for conducting sales, loan financing and quality control on more than 42,000 hectares of the province's farmland.

According to the China News digital publication, Yunnan is known for its fermented dark teas. It is a major exporter of Chinese agricultural products. More than $33 million of the tea was exported in 2018. Sales of the Pu'er Tea firm's products were more than $2.5 billion per yer on average as of 2019.

A customer can scan the QR code on the product's packaging using the blockchain-powered platform. They will then have access to each item's raw materials, production processes, storage and warehouse details, quality test information, how much of it was sold, how it is financially supported and other information relevant to that particular product.

The beginning of the Pu'er Tea firm's interest in blockchain platform goes back to 2019. The province of Yunnan wanted to add tracing solutions powered by blockchain. They made a pilot in March 2020 related to quality tracing on a blockchain platform.

To date, 25 products from 25 companies have been launched through the platform. Yunnan officials hope to add more technology to it in the future. Their plans include adding texture image recognition technology, counterfeit prevention measures and encryption chip solutions based on NFC guidelines.

China has long been a proponent of blockchain technology. The COVID-19 pandemic has solidified that stance. On May 14, The People’s Bank of China set up a financial platform in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The focus of the platform is global trade and financing. On June 1, Chinese authorities announced that they plan to look to Hainan for establishing a free trading port and platform based on blockchain technology.