春茶 (春分至谷雨)
Mar 20 – Apr 20
Early tender single-bud-and-leaf picking for Dongting Biluochun and Nanjing Yuhua.
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
江苏江蘇
Jiangsu
Eastern coastal province along the lower Yangtze and Lake Tai; home to Dongting Biluochun in Suzhou and Nanjing Yuhua green tea.
- Level
- Province
At a glance#
Garden elevation
20–350 m
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Rainfall
1,150 mm a year
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Mean temperature
15.9 °C
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Mean relative humidity
76 %
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Location
- Garden elevation
- Low-elevation lacustrine islands and hills around Lake Tai (Dongting East and West Mountains) and the Ningzhen ridge near Nanjing.
Where it lies#
Tea places nearby, plotted by their coordinates. Only physical positions are shown, no boundaries.
198 places shown Across the view · 1,760 km
32 places shown Across the view · 384 km
Altitude#
Garden elevations here and in neighbouring places, as sourced.
- Xingcun180–1,800 m
- Tongmuguan850–1,500 m
- Jiangxi200–1,300 m
- Shangrao250–1,200 m
- Hubei150–1,200 m
- Anhui100–1,200 m
- Huangshan200–1,100 m
- Zhejiang50–1,100 m
- Lu'an200–950 m
- Xinyang150–850 m
- Qimen150–800 m
- Anji80–800 m
- Hangzhou30–800 m
- Sanyang Peak450–718 m
- Wuyishan200–500 m
- Shuiliandong234–360 m
- Niulankeng234–360 m
- Huiyuankeng234–360 m
- Liuxiangjian234–360 m
- Tianxin Yan234–360 m
- Jiulongke234–360 m
- Matouyan234–360 m
- Wuyi Mountain Scenic Area234–360 m
- Jiangsu20–350 m
- Suzhou15–300 m
Picking calendar#
Terroir#
- Rock
- Quartzose sandstone, limestone, and granite outcrops along Lake Tai and the lower Yangtze hills.
- Soil
- Slightly acidic yellow-brown earth (黄棕壤) and sandy loam with pH 4.5–6.0.
- Slope and light
- Lake Tai's thermal mass moderates winter frost and generates persistent morning mist across the Dongting peninsulas and islands.
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
Cultivation#
- Cultivars grown
- 洞庭碧螺春群体种 (Dongting landrace)Yingshuang
- Landraces
- Traditional Dongting small-leaf seed populations intercropped with loquat, bayberry, ginkgo, and citrus fruit trees.
- Practice
- Classic tea–fruit agroforestry (茶果间作) around Lake Tai; dense needle-shaped green tea cultivation on the wooded slopes of Nanjing.
Local words#
| Local words | Dialect | |
|---|---|---|
| 吓煞人香 hà-saq-nyin-shiān / Xiàshārénxiāng | Northern Wu (Suzhou / Taihu) | frighteningly intense floral-fruity aroma Traditional Suzhou Wu vernacular name recorded for Dongting Biluochun, celebrating the startlingly strong spring aroma of young shoots grown among fruit orchards on Lake Tai. |
People#
- Dongting Lake Tai orchard-tea growers and Nanjing tea masters 洞庭山果茶农与南京制茶师
- Wu-speaking smallholder families on Dongting East and West Hills who intercrop tea with loquat, bayberry, and citrus trees, alongside Nanjing artisans who craft pine-needle-shaped Yuhua tea.
Market#
- Primary trade channel
- Protected-origin spring teas are sold directly by Dongshan, Xishan, and Nanjing producers to Jiangnan collectors, municipal specialty tea houses, and gift markets.国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
- Trading towns
- Suzhou (Dongshan / Xishan) · Nanjing · Yixing
- Output
- Provincial tea production is concentrated in high-value early-spring green teas along Lake Tai (Suzhou Wuzhong) and the Ningzhen (Nanjing–Zhenjiang) hills.
- Prices of teas claiming this origin
- Pricing in Jiangsu's flagship Biluochun and Yuhua markets depends on pre-Qingming bud density, fruit-orchard intercropping provenance on Dongting Hills, and hand pan-firing.
国家质量监督检验检疫总局 / 国家标准化管理委员会 (AQSIQ / SAC)
History#
- 760Tang-dynasty tribute tea established on Guzhu and the Lake Tai borderlands.中国农业出版社 / China Agriculture Press
- 1699Kangxi Emperor tours Lake Tai and bestows the name Biluochun ("Green Snail Spring") on Dongting's aromatic local tea.
- 1958Nanjing standardizes pine-needle-shaped Yuhua green tea in honour of revolutionary martyrs at Yuhuatai.
Notes#
Identity and history#
Spanning the lower Yangtze riverfront and the lacustrine microclimates of Lake Tai, Jiangsu pairs gentle hill topography with intensive horticultural intercropping. In Suzhou's Dongting hills, tea bushes grow intermingled with loquat, bayberry, and citrus orchards, absorbing ambient humidity while undergoing hand-panning into tightly curled, down-covered Biluochun spirals. Further west around Nanjing, pine-needle-shaped Yuhua green tea exemplifies twentieth-century urban-suburban artisanal standardization anchored by rigorous plucking and rolling norms.
Prices of teas claiming this origin#
International retail
Show as table
| Product | Vendor | Channel | per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bi Luo Chun Green Tea | TeaVivre | International retail | $26.46 |
| Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun Green Tea | Sazen Tea | International retail | $181.68 |
| Nanjing Yu Hua Cha | Sazen Tea | International retail | $191.78 |
Listings claiming this origin 3#
Price ranks compare recorded retail offers for the same tea, including offers outside the current delivery filter. Shipping and import charges are excluded.
Prices compared in the selected currency; unknown values appear last.
| Product | Vendor | Price | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
Bi Luo Chun Green Tea
DetailsCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
|
TeaVivreWorldwide |
$29.90 / 113 g | $26.46 |
Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun Green Tea
DetailsCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
|
Sazen TeaWorldwide |
€16.20 / 10 g | $181.68 €162.00 / 100 g |
Nanjing Yu Hua Cha
DetailsCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
|
Sazen TeaWorldwide |
€17.10 / 10 g | $191.78 €171.00 / 100 g |
Prices recorded on the dates checked. Conversions use ECB rates dated 2026-10-20; original prices appear alongside. Origin, age and cultivar are stated by the vendor.
Places within#
Teas associated with this place#
Sources#
- 王镇恒、王广智主编. 中国名茶志. 中国农业出版社, 2000年12月第1版. ISBN 7-109-06510-3 / 9787109065109.
- GB/T 18957-2008 地理标志产品 洞庭山碧螺春茶 (Product of geographical indication — Dongtingshan Biluochun tea)
- 陈宗懋、杨亚军主编. 中国茶经 (2011修订版) (The Classic of Chinese Tea, 2011 rev. ed.). 上海文化出版社, 2011. ISBN 978-7-80740-664-8.