Lugu Township
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.
- Level
- Areatownship (鄉)
- Within
- Taiwan › Nantou County
At a glance#
Where it lies#
Tea places nearby, plotted by their coordinates. Only physical positions are shown, no boundaries.
Altitude#
Garden elevations here and in neighbouring places, as sourced.
Terroir#
- Slope and light
- Described as a transition from subtropical to warm-temperate, warm and humid all year; Xitou at 1,150 m averages about 16.5 °C. (The township office page instead gives an annual mean of 25 °C, which looks too high for this elevation.)
Cultivation#
- Cultivars grown
- Qingxin WulongSijichunJinxuanCuiyu
- Landraces
- 武夷種 also listed
- Practice
- Main raw material is 青心烏龍; some tea is still made by hand.
Local words#
People#
- Hoklo settlers from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou 漳州、泉州移民
- Early settlers came mainly from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou prefectures; the five main surnames (林, 陳, 劉, 張, 黃) make up over 60% of residents.
Market#
- Trading towns
- 鹿谷 (Lugu) · 凍頂 (Dong Ding, 彰雅村)
- Output
- 1961–1971: about 155 ha in the core villages 凍頂, 永隆 and 鳳凰, producing about 36,000 jin (about 21.6 t, inference at 0.6 kg/jin) a year; earlier (late 1940s) under 50 ha. No current township figure found.
- Prices of teas claiming this origin
- At the first contest (spring 1976) the champion lot was bid at NT$5,000 per jin against about NT$60–80 for ordinary tea.
History#
- 1741Zhangzhou settlers begin clearing land near Shuiwu and Qingshui.
- 1855Traditional date for Lin Feng-chi bringing oolong plants from Fujian (legend; the township office's own timeline also gives Daoguang 11 / 1831).
- 1914羌仔寮信用組合 founded, forerunner of the Lugu Farmers' Association.
- 1941Cloth-ball (布球) Baozhong rolling brought to Dong Ding by 王泰友 and 王德 of Dadaocheng's 福記茶行 (introduced at Mingjian in 1939).
- 1949-12Reorganised as the 鹿谷鄉農會 (Lugu Farmers' Association).
- 1973陳拍收 of Yonglong village develops a cloth-ball rolling machine (布球揉捻機).
- 1976-05-02First Dong Ding fine-tea competition (六十五年度凍頂優良茶比賽) at Lugu Elementary School; becomes an annual contest and sale.
- 1984TRES Dong Ding work station established in Lugu.
- 1985End of 吳振鐸's term (from 1976) as chief judge of the Lugu farmers' association contest; he steered entries toward a golden, fragrant style.
- 1999-09-21Chi-Chi earthquake (M7.3) causes severe damage.
Other names and written forms 3#
- 羌仔寮QiangziliaoOlder place name (Qiangziliao), from a hunting hut built in 1787.
- Lugu
- Luku
Notes#
Lugu covers about 142 km² of valleys and slopes between about 200 m and the 2,025 m summit of 嶺頭山; the township seat is at about 735 m. Tea and bamboo shoots are the traditional products, and Dong Ding oolong is the main cash crop. The township office grades its tea from 特等 through 頭等, 貳等, 參等 down to 三梅 and 二梅. The farmers' association descends from a 1914 credit cooperative (羌仔寮信用組合) and was reorganised as the 鹿谷鄉農會 in 1949. The Dong Ding fine-tea competition, first held at Lugu Elementary School on 2 May 1976, became an annual contest and sale. Xitou (溪頭), the NTU experimental forest at about 1,150 m, is in the township.
Prices of teas claiming this origin#
Show as table
| Product | Vendor | Channel | per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four Seasons Oolong Tea | Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company | International retail | $21.32 |
| Dong Ding Oolong Tea | Eco-Cha | International retail | $29.33 |
| Dong Ding Oolong Classic | Yoshi en | International retail | $36.17 |
| Old Master Dong Ding Oolong | Mountain Stream Teas | International retail | $38.00 |
| Frozen Summit Dong Ding Oolong Tea | Path of Cha | International retail | $56.00 |
Listings claiming this origin 5#
Price ranks compare recorded retail offers for the same tea, including offers outside the current delivery filter. Shipping and import charges are excluded.
| Product | Vendor | Price | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
Four Seasons Oolong 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.
|
Beautiful Taiwan Tea CompanyWorldwide |
$15.99 / 75 g | $21.32 ≈ $1.71 a session |
Dong Ding Oolong 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.
|
Eco-ChaSelected destinations |
$22.00 / 75 g | $29.33 ≈ $2.35 a session |
Dong Ding Oolong Classic
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.
|
Yoshi enSelected destinations |
€12.90 / 40 g | $36.17 €32.25 / 100 g ≈ $2.89 a session |
Old Master Dong Ding 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.
|
Mountain Stream TeasSelected destinations |
$9.50 / 25 g | $38.00 ≈ $3.04 a session |
Frozen Summit Dong Ding Oolong 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.
|
Path of ChaWorldwide |
$14.00 / 25 g | $56.00 ≈ $4.48 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.