下关茶厂下關茶廠
Xiaguan Tea Factory
Dali factory best known for tuocha (bowl-shaped nests) and strong, often smoky sheng cakes such as 8653.
- Kind
- company
- Based in
- Dali
- Founded
- 1941
- Brands
- 松鹤 (Songhe, 'pine and crane')reg. no. 585637, launched 1992
- 宝焰 (Baoyan)Tibet-market jincha and brick mark, registered 1942
- 南诏 (Nanzhao)reg. no. 585634, launched 1992
- 下关 (Xiaguan)company mark, named a Yunnan famous trademark
- 三道 (Sandao)reg. no. 660343, launched 1993
- 团结 (Tuanjie, 'Unity')replaced 宝焰 in 1966
- 中茶 (Zhongcha)state CNNP label used from 1952
History#
- 1941March: Kangzang Tea Factory (康藏茶厂) founded at Xiaguan; operations start 20 May.
- 1942Jincha for Tibet sold under the registered 宝焰 (Baoyan) mark.
- 194815 April: reopened as 云南中国茶叶贸易公司新康藏茶厂.
- 195020 July: renamed 中国茶业公司云南省分公司下关茶厂.
- 195219 July: provincial notice puts Xiaguan output under the system-wide 中茶牌 mark.
- 1953June: renamed 云南省茶业公司下关茶厂.
- 1957June: renamed 云南省供销合作社下关茶厂.
- 195826 December: renamed 大理茶厂; reverts to 下关茶厂 at the end of 1959.
- 1966宝焰 mark replaced by 团结牌 during the 'Four Olds' campaign.
- 1967Heart-shaped Tibetan jincha changed to a rectangular brick.
- 1976Pu'er workshop set up; Xiaguan pu'er mark numbers set to start with 76 and end in 3.
- 199210 March: 松鹤 (reg. 585637) and 南诏 (reg. 585634) trademarks launched.
- 199428 June: 云南下关沱茶股份有限公司 approved; founding shareholders' meeting 29 August.
- 1998December: 云南下关沱茶（集团）股份有限公司 formed.
- 200029 May: renamed 云南下关茶厂沱茶（集团）股份有限公司 with five shareholders.
- 200430 April: after a public auction, Dali Prefecture Finance Bureau signs the property-rights transfer contract; buyer's representative Luo Naixin.
- 2010Recognised as a 中华老字号 (certificate 225010).
- 2011Xiaguan tuocha making technique listed as national ICH (Ⅷ-152).
- 2024云南省下关茶厂 named on the MIIT sixth batch of national industrial heritage (notice of 22 October).
Also sold or written as 16#
Chinese variants
- 下关沱茶Xiaguan Tuocha
- 松鹤Songhe — pine and crane
- 云南下关沱茶集团(Yunnan Xiaguan Tuocha Group)Corporate name.
- 康藏茶厂 / 康藏茶廠(Kangzang Tea Factory)Founding name, 1941.
- 新康藏茶厂Xin Kangzang — tea factoryName on reopening, April 1948.
- 中国茶业公司云南省分公司下关茶厂China Tea — branch Yunnan; Xiaguan — tea factoryName from 20 July 1950.
- 大理茶厂Dali — tea factoryName from 26 December 1958 to the end of 1959.
- 云南下关沱茶股份有限公司Yunnan Xiaguan Tuocha — joint-stock companyJoint-stock company approved in 1994.
- 云南下关茶厂沱茶（集团）股份有限公司Yunnan Xiaguan — tea factory; Tuocha — joint-stock group companyRegistered name from 29 May 2000.
- 云南下关沱茶（集团）股份有限公司 / 雲南下關沱茶（集團）股份有限公司Yunnan Xiaguan Tuocha — joint-stock group companyCurrent company name (official site).
Translations and trade names
- Xiaguan
- factory code 3
- Songhe
- Pine and Crane / White CraneEnglish renderings of 松鹤 (Songhe); 'White Crane' is documented in Hello Tea Cup's 2017 article.
Abbreviations
- XG
- XGTFForum abbreviation.
Names and ambiguities#
The 1950 name
Xiaguan’s official chronicle gives the full name 中国茶业公司云南省分公司下关茶厂 for 20 July 1950, followed by names referring to the provincial tea company in 1953 and the provincial supply-and-marketing cooperative in 1957. Its shorter company overview describes the mid-1950s change more generally. These sources use different levels of detail.
1994 joint-stock company: date and founders
The manufacturer records three separate steps in 1994: provincial approval on 28 June, the founding shareholders’ meeting on 29 August, and the formal launch on 30 August. The last entry explicitly names five founding parties: the factory, the provincial tea company, Chongqing Yuzhong Tea Company, Yunnan Xiaguan Tea Comprehensive Operations Company and the factory employees’ shareholding association. These are distinct milestones, not competing dates for one event.
Who bought Xiaguan in 2004
The official chronicle records the property-rights contract signed on 30 April 2004 after a public auction. It names the Dali Prefecture Finance Bureau as the transferring party and Luo Naixin as the receiving party’s representative, but does not identify a purchasing company. The company overview calls the 2004 change a privatisation. A more specific owner should not be inferred from the representative’s name.
When the 中茶 mark was adopted
Notes#
Xiaguan's own chronicle gives the following history. In 1939 the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission and 云南中国茶叶贸易股份有限公司 agreed to set up a Kangzang Tea Factory (康藏茶厂) at Xiaguan, each putting in 100,000 yuan. It was founded in March 1941, began work on 20 May 1941 and pressed jincha for Tibet under the registered 宝焰 (Baoyan) mark from 1942. It closed in 1946. It reopened in 1948 as 云南中国茶叶贸易公司新康藏茶厂 and stopped again in 1949. After the 1950 takeover it was renamed 中国茶业公司云南省分公司下关茶厂 (20 July 1950).
Its later names were 云南省茶业公司下关茶厂 (June 1953), 云南省供销合作社下关茶厂 (June 1957) and 大理茶厂 (from 26 December 1958), before reverting to 下关茶厂 at the end of 1959. A provincial notice of 19 July 1952 put its output under the system-wide 中茶牌 mark. Private Xiaguan firms such as 永昌祥 were absorbed through joint state-private ownership in the 1950s. In 1966 the 宝焰 mark was replaced by 团结牌. In 1967 the heart-shaped Tibetan jincha was changed to a rectangular brick. In 1976 a pu'er workshop opened, and Xiaguan mark numbers were set to begin with 76 and end in 3.
Its own trademarks followed: 松鹤 (reg. no. 585637) and 南诏 (585634), both launched 10 March 1992, and 三道 (660343), launched 7 October 1993. A joint-stock company, 云南下关沱茶股份有限公司, was approved on 28 June 1994, and its founding shareholders' meeting was held on 29 August 1994. In December 1998 it became 云南下关沱茶（集团）股份有限公司. On 29 May 2000 it was re-registered as 云南下关茶厂沱茶（集团）股份有限公司, with five shareholders including the state factory and an employee shareholding association. Privatisation came after a public auction.
On 30 April 2004 the Dali Prefecture Finance Bureau, as seller, signed the property-rights contract with the buyer's representative, Luo Naixin (罗乃炘), who is named as group chairman in 2005. The chronicle does not name the buying company. The company today trades as 云南下关沱茶（集团）股份有限公司 and has opened a new plant at Yinqiao, Dali. Later recognitions: 中华老字号 in 2010 (certificate 225010); national ICH for the tuocha craft in 2011; and the Xiaguan Tea Factory on the MIIT's sixth list of national industrial heritage (notice of 22 October 2024).
Recipes#
8653 青饼
Xiaguan 8653 bā liù wǔ sān qīngbǐng
Xiaguan's main raw cake recipe, often iron-pressed ("tiebing") very tightly.
sourced
甲级沱茶
Xiaguan Jia Ji tuocha jiǎjí tuóchá
Xiaguan's flagship 100 g bowl-shaped sheng tuocha; "Jia Ji" means first or superior grade. It carries no number code.
sourced
8663 熟饼
Xiaguan 8663 bā liù liù sān shúbǐng
Xiaguan's recurring ripe cake recipe, documented in both ordinary and iron-pressed editions.
sourced
销法沱茶
Xiaguan Xiao Fa Tuocha xiāofǎ tuóchá
Xiaguan's named ripe tuocha line associated with the French export market, documented in several years and sizes.
sourced
8613 生饼
Xiaguan 8613 bā liù yī sān shēngbǐng
Xiaguan’s numbered raw Pu Erh cake family, including ordinary and T8613 iron-cake versions.
sourced
8633 生茶
Xiaguan 8633 bā liù sān sān shēngchá
Xiaguan’s numbered raw Pu Erh family, documented in different cake sizes and pressing variants.
sourced
特级沱茶
Xiaguan Te Ji Tuocha tèjí tuóchá
Xiaguan’s named Special Grade raw tuocha line, distinct from Jia Ji.
sourced
苍洱沱茶
Xiaguan Cang Er Tuocha cāng’ěr tuóchá
Xiaguan’s Cang Er named raw tuocha line, documented in more than one size.
sourced
下关 7653
Xiaguan 7653 Xiàguān qī liù wǔ sān
Xiaguan’s 7653 raw Pu Erh family, with regular and iron-cake versions documented.
sourced
下关 8603
Xiaguan 8603 Xiàguān bā liù líng sān
Xiaguan’s recurring 8603 raw Pu Erh line, with later editions carrying additional series names.
sourced