The more Shi learned about tea making and processing, the more she became interested in it. In her three years at the vocational school, she took part in vocational skills competitions, winning provincial and national awards.

Processing a wok of tea usually takes two hours, but when she prepared for the competitions, she processed the tea for eight to 10 hours every day for a month to improve her skills.

"The secret is to ensure that your hands are inseparable from the tea leaves and that the leaves are inseparable from the wok," she said.

"I never regretted not attending high school and college. Seeing my friends at college taking all kinds of tests and wondering what their futures are, I feel lucky to have quickly found a career I am passionate about," Shi said.