六堡镇六堡鎮
Liubao
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.
At a glance#
Where it lies#
Tea places nearby, plotted by their coordinates. Only physical positions are shown, no boundaries.
33 places shown Across the view · 410 km
11 places shown Across the view · 56 km
Local words#
Market#
- Trading towns
- Liubao · Wuzhou · Guangzhou · Hong Kong
- Output
- No town-level figure found; see cangwu for county output.
- Prices of teas claiming this origin
- Not researched.
Misnaming to watch for: 'Liubao' is now made in over 20 Guangxi counties, so the name alone does not mean Liubao-town leaf. The 'betel-nut aroma' is a style descriptor and is not proof of age. The Jiaqing '24 famous teas' ranking is a traditional claim repeated by local government and is not traced to a primary text here.
History#
- 2011Liubao tea granted national geographical-indication product protection.
- 2014Liubao tea making (Cangwu) listed as national intangible cultural heritage (No. 935, Ⅷ-152).
- 2017First national standard for the tea, 《黑茶 第4部分：六堡茶》, comes into force.
- 2026During the 2026 tea-opening festival, Liubao town receives 73,300 visitors.
Other names and written forms 4#
Chinese variants
- 多贤乡六堡Liubao, Duoxian — townshipThe Kangxi-era Cangwu gazetteer places the tea at 'Liubao in Duoxian township'.
Translations and trade names
- Liu Bao
- Liu Pao
- Six Forts
Names and ambiguities#
Notes#
Liubao tea is a dark tea. Fresh leaf (one bud and two to three leaves) is spread, fixed at low temperature, rolled, piled to ferment (沤堆) and dried. It is graded as special grade plus grades one to six. Its traditional four-word description is 红、浓、陈、醇 (red, thick, aged, mellow), with a distinctive betel-nut (槟榔) aroma, and it is held to improve with age. The Wuzhou government cites the Kangxi-era 《苍梧县志》 as saying tea from Liubao in Duoxian township keeps its flavour overnight and has fine colour, aroma and taste. The government pages also state the traditional claim that in the Jiaqing era it ranked among China's '24 famous teas'.
It travelled as an overseas-Chinese export tea by river boat from the Hekou wharf in Liubao. Recognitions: national GI (2011); national intangible heritage for Liubao tea making (2014, No. 935, Ⅷ-152); national product standard 黑茶 第4部分：六堡茶 in force in 2017. Today's makers include 黑石山茶厂, run by the national ICH bearer 韦洁群. The town's 17 villages include 六堡, 合口, 山坪, 塘平 and 不倚. A showcase 'Liubao tea garden' has 1,100 mu of tea.