九龙窠九龍窠
Jiulongke
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.
- Level
- Sub-area
- Within
- Fujian › Nanping › Wuyishan › Wuyi Mountain Scenic Area
- Terroir class
- Zhengyan 正岩 · "true rock", core scenic area
At a glance#
- Garden elevation
- Zhengyan sampling range; no measured elevation for the mother-tree cliff found.
- Location
- OSM natural=tree node '大红袍' (the mother trees) at the end of the Shuiliandong–Da Hong Pao trail.
Where it lies#
Tea places nearby, plotted by their coordinates. Only physical positions are shown, no boundaries.
54 places shown Across the view · 32 km
86 places shown Across the view · 14 km
Altitude#
Garden elevations here and in neighbouring places, as sourced.
Terroir#
- Rock
- Sheer Danxia cliffs; bushes in cliff-foot terraces held by stone walls.
- Slope and light
- Deep east–west gorge: short sun, wind shelter, persistent mist; spring and seep water.
Cultivation#
- Cultivars grown
- Qidan
- Landraces
- The six mother bushes are a mix of several cultivars (Nos. 3 and 4 differ from 1/5 and 2/6).
- Plant age
- Said to be over 350 years (records of the three original trees).
- Practice
- Mother trees unpicked since May 2006; a named-bush nursery garden since 1980.
Local words#
History#
- 1927'大红袍' characters carved on the cliff, attributed to a Tianxin Temple monk (zh Wikipedia also mentions a 1930s county-magistrate carving).
- 1941Lin Fuquan's survey identifies 'Da Hong Pao' as Qidan growing on the half-cliff of Jiulongke.
- 1980Jiulongke named-bush garden built; bushes 5 and 6 planted from layers of 1 and 2.
- 2003Mother trees insured for 100 million yuan.
- 200520 g of mother-tree tea sold for 208,000 yuan at the 7th Wuyishan Da Hong Pao Tea Culture Festival.
- 2005-05-03Last harvest of the mother trees: a record 915 g.
- 2006-05-13Wuyishan City government halts picking of the six mother trees (停采留养).
- 2007-10-1020 g from the 2005 harvest presented to the National Museum of China, its first modern tea.
Other names and written forms 7#
Chinese variants
- 九龍窠JiulongkeTraditional characters.
- 天心岩九龙窠Jiulongke, Tianxin YanForm used by Xinhua (2006), placing Jiulongke within Tianxin Rock.
Romanisations
- Jiu Long Ke
Translations and trade names
- Nine Dragon Nest
- Jiu Long Cao / JiulongchaoMisreadings of 窠 (correctly kē) seen in English sources.
- Kowloon NestCantonese-derived rendering (九龍 = Kowloon) seen on forums.
- JiulongyuSpelling used by English Wikipedia.
Names and ambiguities#
Palace Museum or National Museum; 2006 or 2007
English Wikipedia says the last batch went to the Palace Museum, probably because the ceremony was held in the Duanmen hall outside the Forbidden City; China News Service and Fujian Daily name the National Museum of China. TeaDB dates the picking ban to 2007; Xinhua reported the decision on 13 May 2006.
Annual yield of the mother trees
Notes#
Harvesting from the mother trees stopped in 2006 for conservation; the trees are protected heritage plants.
Listings claiming this origin 1#
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Wu Yi Handmade Rou Gui Oolong
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.
|
ChawangshopWorldwide |
$20.00 / 25 g | $80.00 ≈ $6.40 a session |
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.