Regions

Fujian's largest prefecture (26,280 km²), coterminous with 'Minbei'. Home of Wuyi yancha, Lapsang souchong, Minbei Shuixian and Jianyang/Zhenghe white tea; 105,800 t of tea in 2025.

Nanping district south of Wuyishan. Dahu village (now in Xiaohu town) is the usual origin of the Shuixian cultivar; Zhangdun is the cradle of Jianyang white tea.

County-level city (Chong'an county until 1989) whose whole administrative area is the Wuyi yancha GI. About 148,000 mu of tea and 25,100 t of crude tea (2023); also home of Lapsang souchong.

The ~70 km² national scenic area of red Danxia cliffs along the Nine Bend River; its rocky inner valleys are the zhengyan core of Wuyi rock tea.

A narrow 2 km valley in the scenic core, one of the 'three pits'; home of Shui Jin Gui and of 'Niu Rou' Rougui, the most hyped and most faked shanchang tea.

The largest of the 'three pits': a deep basin below Huiyuan Temple, fed from Zhangtangjian, long known for old gardens and many named bushes, incl. Tie Luohan and Bai Jiguan.

A broad rock site of the scenic core made up of dozens of small named plots; its Rougui ('Ma Rou', 马肉) is ranked with Niulankeng's.

Deep east–west gorge under Tianxin Rock where the six Da Hong Pao mother bushes grow on a cliff; harvest stopped in May 2006, the last tea went to the National Museum in 2007.

One of the 'three pits': a deep, secluded boulder-lined canyon between Niulankeng and Liuxiangjian, with tea terraced up its sides.

One of the 'two streams': a narrow cliff-walled gorge on the slow trail between Huiyuan Temple and the Da Hong Pao trees, fed from Sanyang Peak's north valley.

One of the 'two streams': a steep, foggy gorge at the southern foot of Matouyan, draining past Lantang village toward the Nine Bend River.

East–west canyon carrying the Da Hong Pao road from the Chongyang side up to Tianxin; the main stream of the Jiulongke–Daoshuikeng–Tianxin area. Counted as a 'pit' only in some lists.

Rock at the centre of the scenic core with Tianxin Yongle Chan Temple below it; Jiulongke and the Da Hong Pao mother trees lie in its gorge, and temple monks figure in the DHP legend.

Huge overhanging cliff in the north of the scenic area with a waterfall from its rim; the start of the slow trail to the Da Hong Pao trees and a classic Shuixian site.

Stream gorge between Shuiliandong and Huiyuan on the slow trail; its water feeds Huiyuankeng. A classic zhengyan site, sometimes counted as part of greater Huiyuan.

Highest peak of the scenic area (717.7 m), three tilted rock slabs north of the seventh bend; Liuxiangjian rises in its north valley.

Collective entry for gardens at the edges of the scenic area. Used when a vendor says "banyan" without naming a place.

Collective entry for flatter riverside and lowland gardens inside Wuyishan but outside the rocky core.

High mountain village in Wuyishan National Park, about 70 km west of Wuyishan city: origin of pine-smoked Lapsang souchong (正山小种) and, since 2005, of Jin Jun Mei.

Town west of the Wuyi scenic area and the historic market for Wuyi tea and Lapsang ('tea isn't fragrant until it reaches Xingcun'); about 42% of Wuyishan's tea gardens. Tongmu is in it.

North Fujian county on the Zhejiang border, named after a Song reign era in 1115; makes Zhenghe white tea from Zhenghe Dabai and Zhenghe Gongfu black tea.

Prefecture-level port city in southern Fujian (Minnan) whose Anxi County is the home of Tieguanyin and the largest tea county by trade.

Minnan oolong county, origin of Tieguanyin; the whole county is the 'Anxi Tie Guan Yin' GI area. About 600,000 mu of gardens; a national hub of the tea trade.

Town in south-central Anxi held to be the birthplace of Tieguanyin; both origin legends and the 'mother tree' are here. About 60,000 mu of tea, over 5,000 t a year.

High 'Inner Anxi' town in the north-west, the leading modern Tieguanyin producer and a major raw-tea market: about 50,000 mu and 5,000 t a year.

North-east Fujian (Mindong) prefecture: home of Fuding white tea and Fu'an's Tanyang Gongfu black tea, both EU–China agreement GIs.

Coastal county-level city on the Zhejiang border, the GI home of Fuding white tea (Silver Needle, White Peony) and of the Fuding Dabai and Dahao cultivars.

Inland west Fujian prefecture (Minxi) that includes Zhangping, home of Zhangping Shuixian pressed oolong cakes.

County-level city in Longyan, home of Zhangping Shuixian: Shuixian oolong pressed in wooden moulds into small paper-wrapped square cakes and charcoal-roasted.

Dai autonomous prefecture in far-south Yunnan (Jinghong, Menghai, Mengla); over 1.43 million mu of tea and the core of old-tree pu'er country.

Self-described largest pu'er-planting county in China (905,900 mu, 41,100 t maocha); home of Menghai Tea Factory and of Bulang, Nannuo, Hekai, Bada, Pasha, Mengsong.

China's main Bulang township (about 1,000 km², 535–2,082 m) on the Myanmar border; 126,400 mu of tea incl. 24,000 mu old trees, with Lao Banzhang and Lao Man'e.

Hani village of about 127 households in northern Bulangshan; roughly 4,500 mu of old trees and perhaps 50 t a year of the most expensive Menghai maocha.

Hani village founded by families from Lao Banzhang, about 7 km south-west of it over one ridge; about 1,400 mu of younger trees, priced well below LBZ.

The largest and oldest Bulang village on Bulang Mountain, famed for intensely bitter tea; villagers distinguish bitter (苦茶) and sweet (甜茶) trees by taste.

Hani mountain about 20 km east of Menghai town on the Jinghong road: about 30 villages, 12,000 mu of old gardens, and the site of Yunnan's first machine tea factory (c. 1940).

Lahu tea villages in Menghun town with about 16,000 mu of old trees, billed as China's largest contiguous ancient tea garden; on the road from Menghai to Lao Banzhang.

Bulang–Hani tea area in Xiding township on the Myanmar border, known for the 1,700-year wild 'Bada tea king' (now dead) on Dahei Mountain and Zhanglang old gardens.

Hani (Aini) administrative village of Gelanghe township south-west of Nannuo; about 3,000 mu of old gardens at about 1,600–1,800 m, mist-bound most of the year.

Township in north-east Menghai, north-west of Nannuo; old-tree villages such as Nanben Laozhai and Sanmai, and a regular Menghai Tea Factory (Dayi) sourcing area.

Border county of eastern Xishuangbanna, east of the Mekong; holds Yiwu and the Xiangming mountains (Yibang, Manzhuan, Gedeng, Mangzhi) of the old six tea mountains.

Mengla town and tea mountain, the Qing collecting centre of the six mountains and seat of old trading houses; sheng known for soft, sweet, low-bitterness liquor.

Village and administrative-village seat north-east of Yiwu town; vendors call it Yiwu's largest garden area and its benchmark soft, sweet, floral-honey style.

Yao village on the Laos border in Mahei administrative village, northern Yiwu; forest gardens such as Chawangshu, Chaping and Baishahe give some of Yiwu's priciest leaf.

Yi ethnic township in northern Mengla holding four of the old six tea mountains: Yibang, Manzhuan, Gedeng and Mangzhi.

Qing administrative and tribute-tea centre of the northern six mountains, famous for small-leaf trees and Mansong tribute tea.

Small-leaf tribute-tea area of Yibang, ~1,340 m; once the most prized leaf of the six mountains, now scarce and mostly younger trees.

Southern Xiangming mountain (Manzhuang, Manlin) with the best-preserved old gardens of the six mountains; trees average over 300 years.

Smallest of the old six tea mountains, in Anle village of Xiangming; known for a Qing-recorded 'tea king' tree, now dead.

Xiangming mountain with gardens since the Yuan; Niuguntang was the northern six mountains' tea market under Kangxi; few old trees remain.

Seat of Xishuangbanna on the Mekong; its Jinuoshan township holds Youle, the only one of the old six tea mountains outside Mengla.

Jinuo Mountain in Jinghong, first-named of the Qing six mountains and the only one outside Mengla; Youle village holds its largest old garden.

Prefecture-level city on the west bank of the Lancang (Mekong), the northern pu'er region: Mengku/Bingdao in Shuangjiang, Xigui and Bangdong in Linxiang, plus Yongde and Fengqing.

Four-ethnic autonomous county in Lincang (Lahu, Wa, Blang, Dai); about 340,000 mu of tea; contains Mengku town, Bingdao and the Mengku large-leaf landrace.

Tea town in north Shuangjiang (16 administrative villages, about 130,000 mu of tea) split by the Daxueshan ridge into west and east half-mountains; home of the Mengku large-leaf landrace and Bingdao.

Dai village in north Mengku (Shuangjiang). Its Laozhai old-tree sheng is the most expensive single-village pu'er; a national GI since 2025 covers only the Laozhai hamlet.

Main peak (about 3,233 m) of the Bangma range in Mengku, with a protected wild tea population of about 12,000-12,700 mu at 2,200-2,750 m, known since the late 1990s.

Village on the east half-mountain of Mengku, Shuangjiang; best known for tengtiao ('rattan') old trees, with over 800 mu of trees above 100 years.

Natural village of Gongnong (45% Lahu in 2015) on the west half-mountain of Mengku below Bangma Daxueshan; 1,150 mu of tea, with the county's largest well-kept old garden.

District seat of Lincang City, formerly Lincang County; its Bangdong township on the Lancang River holds Xigui and the Bangdong 'rock tea' gardens.

Township of Linxiang on the west bank of the Lancang, below Bangdong Daxueshan; about 5,000 mu of tea gardens, home of Xigui.

Village of Bangdong, Linxiang, whose old garden on Manglu Shan above the Lancang lies at only about 750 m; one of Lincang's two most expensive names after Bingdao.

County in northern Lincang on the west bank of the Lancang, opposite the Wuliang range; 26,591 t of tea in 2024 and the old-tree area of Baiyingshan in Manwan town.

County in western Lincang below Yongde Daxueshan; known in pu'er for Mangfei village in Mengban township and for cheaper Daxueshan leaf often used in shou.

Administrative village of Mengban township, Yongde, at about 1,500-2,000 m; source of the Mangfei large-leaf population named in 1980 and Yongde's best-known pu'er name.

County in Lincang and a historic centre of Dianhong black tea; its tea economy also includes green tea and modern beverage ingredients.

Tea-producing township northwest of Fengqing town, on the south bank of the Lancang; an important local source of both Dianhong and green tea.

Prefecture-level city (Simao until 2007) whose historic seat Ning'er gave pu'er its name; contains Jingmai (Lancang), Jinggu and Kunlu Shan. All ten county units lie in the pu'er GI area.

Lahu autonomous county of Pu'er City (436,000 mu of tea) whose Huimin town holds the Jingmai-Mangjing old tea forests, a World Heritage site since 2023.

Mountain in Huimin, Lancang, with Blang and Dai villages farming tea under forest cover; UNESCO World Heritage (2023) for about 1,180 ha of old tea forests.

Blang administrative village on the south side of Jingmai Mountain (Wengji, Mangjing Shangzhai/Xiazhai, Manghong, Wengwa); keeper of the Pa'aileng tea-ancestor cult.

Village of Fudong township, Lancang, home of the Bangwei 'transitional' ancient tea tree (11.8 m), reported in 1991, endorsed by experts in 1993 and shown on a 1997 stamp.

Dai-Yi autonomous county in Pu'er City, known for the Jinggu Dabai (景谷大白茶) large white-bud tea and promoted as a white-tea demonstration county.

Hamlet in Dacun administrative village, Minle town, Jinggu; documented origin of the large, downy-budded Jinggu Dabai tea material.

Yi autonomous county in north Pu'er City with the Wuliang Mountains and the Lancang on its west; about 265,000 mu of tea and a claim to the Tang 'tea of Yinsheng'.

Range through Nanjian, Jingdong, Zhenyuan and Jinggu, peaking at 3,306 m (Maotou Shan, Jingdong); a 31,585 ha national reserve, with tea on its Jingdong and Nanjian sides.

Bai autonomous prefecture in western Yunnan; seat of the Xiaguan Tea Factory and its tuocha; Dali City, Yongping, Yunlong, Nanjian and Weishan lie in the pu'er GI area.

Seat of Dali at the south end of Erhai; birthplace of tuocha (1902) and home of the Xiaguan Tea Factory (1941), the main maker of compressed border tea for Tibet.

Yi autonomous county in southern Dali on the northern Wuliang Mountains; inside the pu'er GI, with tea at Luobuke and a Wuliang Mountains cherry-and-tea garden at 1,800-2,400 m.

Provincial capital (about 1,890 m): seat of the state Kunming Tea Factory (1938/39-1994), which pioneered ripe pu'er, and of 'Kunming dry storage'.

Prefecture-level city in western Yunnan; Changning is one of its tea-growing counties and a centre of black-tea production.

Tea-growing county of Baoshan, known for Changning black tea and for cultivated old-tree resources around Mangshui and Wenquan.

Tea-growing town of Changning with an export-base programme and the Huangjiazhai old-tea-tree area; local production includes sun-dried tea, black tea and white tea.

Teochew city in eastern Guangdong; its Fenghuang mountains grow Dancong oolong, and it is the home of Chaozhou gongfu tea, a national intangible heritage item since 2008.

District of Chaozhou (a county until 2013) containing Fenghuang town and most of the core Dancong mountains.

Mountain town north of Chaozhou and the heart of Phoenix Dancong oolong. Its named single-bush trees, grouped by aroma, grow from about 365 m to 1,200 m.

Fenghuang's 1,391 m second peak and its most famous Dancong slope: high hamlets at about 850–1,200 m with the oldest named bushes, including the 'Song' trees.

Prefecture-level city in north-central Guangdong whose county-level city of Yingde is the home of Yingde black tea.

Karst-and-hill city in northern Guangdong, home of Yingde black tea (英红) from large-leaf cultivars bred at the provincial tea station founded here in 1959.

Provincial capital and a trading, storage and drinking centre rather than a growing area. Fangcun is the reference market for factory pu'er prices.

River port on the Xi Jiang at the Guangdong border; the trading and factory centre of Liubao tea, historically shipped downriver to Guangdong, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Hilly county of Wuzhou; the original and core producing area of Liubao dark tea: about 209,000 mu of tea and 15,000 t a year (2026).

Hill town about 30 km from Wuzhou city that gives Liubao dark tea its name: red, thick, aged and mellow, with a 'betel-nut' aroma prized by old export markets.

Prefecture on the lower Zi River. The Anhua dark-tea GI covers Anhua county plus towns in Taojiang, Heshan and Ziyang, all in Yiyang.

Mountain county on the Zi River and centre of Anhua dark tea: official border-trade tea from 1595, now 360,000 mu of tea and Fu bricks with 'golden flowers'.

Inland central county with about half of Taiwan's tea output: Dong Ding oolong (Lugu), Sun Moon Lake black tea (Yuchi) and high-mountain gardens such as Shanlinxi and Ren'ai.

Hill township in Nantou, home of Dong Ding oolong and of the annual Dong Ding fine-tea competition (since 1976); gardens mostly at about 600–1,200 m.

Tableland at about 740–770 m in Lugu's Zhangya village; source of Dong Ding oolong, a medium-oxidised, ball-rolled and roasted 青心烏龍 tea.

Nantou township around Sun Moon Lake; Taiwan's black-tea centre since Assam plants arrived in 1925 and home of TRES's Yuchi station (1936), breeder of 紅玉 (台茶18號).

South-central county whose mountain townships form the Alishan high-mountain tea area; Taiwan's second tea county by output (about 14% in 2013).

High-mountain oolong area in Chiayi's mountain townships (Alishan, Meishan, Fanlu, Zhuqi), gardens roughly 900–1,400 m; mainly 青心烏龍 and 金萱.

Central special municipality whose mountainous Heping District contains the Lishan high-mountain tea area, among Taiwan's highest gardens.

High-mountain oolong area around Lishan village in Taichung's Heping District; gardens about 1,450–2,600 m, among the highest in Taiwan; tea since about 1980.

Special municipality around Taipei whose hill districts (Pinglin, Shiding, Xindian, Shenkeng, Xizhi) make most Wenshan Baozhong; about 12% of Taiwan's tea output in 2013.

Hill district of New Taipei on the Beishi River, the heart of Wenshan Baozhong: nearly 1,000 ha of tea, most residents tea farmers; Pinglin Tea Museum since 1997.

District of New Taipei associated with Biluochun and Longjing green teas made from Qingxin Ganzai.

Special municipality in the north of the island; its Wenshan District hills (Muzha, Maokong) are the home of Muzha Tieguanyin, and Nangang was an early Baozhong centre.

Former Taipei district (now in Wenshan District) whose Maokong hills at about 300–350 m are the home of Muzha Tieguanyin, a ball-rolled, well-roasted oolong.

Northwestern, largely Hakka county; its hill townships Beipu and Emei are the classic home of Oriental Beauty (膨風茶), with Zhudong also producing.

Hakka hill township in Hsinchu, where Oriental Beauty is called 膨風茶 ('bragging tea'); leafhopper-bitten summer leaf, heavily oxidised.

Small Hakka township next to Beipu in Hsinchu, where the summer leafhopper tea is sold mainly as 東方美人 (Oriental Beauty); tea factories dominate local industry.

Hakka-majority county south of Hsinchu; Toufen, Touwu, Sanwan and Nanzhuang make Oriental Beauty, locally 椪風茶 or the older 番庄烏龍.

Hakka city in Miaoli whose hill villages (興隆, 流東, 珊湖) in the Laoqi area grow 椪風茶 (Oriental Beauty) from 青心烏龍 under organic, unsprayed cultivation.

Eastern Taiwan county containing Luye, the development centre of Taiwan red oolong.

Taitung township closely associated with the red-oolong style developed by the tea research institute in 2008.

Historic tea garden on Lantau, now including restoration of surviving bushes and renewed small-scale harvesting. This is distinct from reopening the former commercial plantation.

Active tea gardens at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in Tai Po, Hong Kong, used for local harvesting, tea processing and education.

Hakka village in Sha Tin with small hillside tea plots and household tea-making documented in reporting published in 2026.

Prefecture-level city in Jiangxi; townships of its Guangxin district form the protected area of Shangrao Baimei green tea.

District of Shangrao whose townships, including Huatanshan, Wufushan, Dongtuan, Shanglu and Zunqiao, the 2025 geographical-indication requirements name as the protected area of Shangrao Baimei, a downy green tea.

County-level city in Zhejiang where Jiangshan Lü Mudan is made. The tea originated in Bao’an township on the northern foot of the Xianxia range.