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.
Tea places nearby, plotted by their coordinates. Only physical positions are shown, no boundaries.
Garden elevations here and in neighbouring places, as sourced.
In mid-March 2014 the bushes had not yet budded. Xinhua photographs show picking and drying in Tongmu on 7–9 May (2025, 2026). Jin Jun Mei uses the earliest buds; Lapsang souchong uses fuller leaf later. The 2014 report says the whole tea season lasts about three months. No reliable start and end dates found.
| Local words | Dialect | |
|---|---|---|
| Lapsang (正山 / 立山) La-sang (trade spelling) | Fuzhou (Eastern Min), per Heiss & Heiss | Said to mean 'pine wood' (with 'souchong' = 小种, 'small sort'). Disputed: Chinese sources also give the name 立山小种, suggesting 'Lapsang' may render 立山. |
A 2014 Sanlian report, citing AQSIQ origin-mark rules, gives a 50 km² zone. It spans 117°38′06″–117°44′30″E and 27°41′35″–27°49′00″N, bounded by Masu (E), Guadun (W), Pikeng and Guwangkeng (S) and Tongmuguan (N). A 2021 interview with tea scholar Mu Xiangtong centres it on Miaowan and Jiangdun but gives a radius of 600 km, which is clearly too large and probably garbled. Other writers include high gardens where Chong'an, Jianyang and Guangze meet. Everything outside is 外山小种 'outside-mountain' Lapsang.
The 2014 Sanlian report says Beijing customers (Zhang Mengjiang, Yan Yifeng, Sun Lianquan) proposed a bud-only black tea in July 2005, and Liang Junde with Jiang Jinfa and Hu Jiexing processed it in Jiang Yuanxun's factory. China Daily and People's Daily credit Jiang Yuanxun and his team. Chinese Wikipedia names Jiang's team as developers and Liang Junde as the first maker. Brand claims by 正山堂 and 骏眉梁 differ.
Tongmu is an administrative village of Xingcun town (星村镇), about 70 km west of Wuyishan city, on the Fujian–Jiangxi border. The route runs north past Xingcun. Tongmuguan (桐木关), one of the 'eight great passes' of the Wuyi range, is the pass at the village's northern edge into Yanshan county, Jiangxi. The village has been inside the Wuyishan nature reserve since 1979 and is now in the core of Wuyishan National Park. It had 430 households and 1,906 people (2021), 33 natural hamlets and 12 former production teams. Hamlets include Miaowan (庙湾), Jiangdun (江墩), Guanping (关坪), Masu (麻粟) and Guadun (挂墩). Entry to the reserve is controlled at Pikeng (皮坑).
Tea: bushes grow scattered on steep slopes between bamboo stands rather than in terraced gardens, and locals call them 'wild tea' (野茶). Bamboo and tea are the cash crops. Lapsang souchong is withered and dried over Masson pine (马尾松) fires in multi-storey wooden 'green houses' (青楼), giving its smoke and longan (桂圆) notes. Since 2017, controls against pine wilt disease have restricted imported pine, and bark-stripped wood is said to weaken the smoke. An unsmoked style and Jin Jun Mei (2005, buds only) now dominate value. Names: the tea is also called 桐木小种 (Tongmu Xiaozhong), because Tongmu leaf is rated best, and 星村小种 (Xingcun Xiaozhong), because it was traditionally processed and traded at Xingcun.
The Jiang (江) lineage of Miaowan has made tea here for a claimed 24 generations. Jiang Yuanxun (aged 48 in 2014), the '24th-generation inheritor', founded the Yuanxun tea factory in 1998, which became 正山茶业 / 正山堂. Jin Jun Mei was first made in July 2005, at the suggestion of Beijing customers (张孟江, 阎翼峰 and 孙连泉). About 2.4 jin of buds were processed by Liang Junde (梁骏德) and others in Jiang's team.
| Product | Vendor | Channel | per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tong Mu Guan Fruit Aroma Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong Black Tea | Yunnan Sourcing | International retail | $29.00 |
| Tong Mu Village Dan Ya Jin Jun Mei Black Tea | Yunnan Sourcing | International retail | $66.00 |
| Traditional Pine Core Region Smoked Lapsang Souchong Tin | Lapsangstore | International retail | $170.00 |
| 2026 Jin Jun Mei Black Tea Classic Version Tin | Lapsangstore | International retail | $310.00 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tong Mu Guan Fruit Aroma Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong Black Tea | Yunnan SourcingSelected destinations |
$14.50 / 50 g | $29.00 |
| Tong Mu Village Dan Ya Jin Jun Mei Black Tea | Yunnan SourcingSelected destinations |
$33.00 / 50 g | $66.00 |
| Traditional Pine Core Region Smoked Lapsang Souchong Tin | LapsangstoreSelected destinations |
$85.00 / 50 g | $170.00 |
| 2026 Jin Jun Mei Black Tea Classic Version Tin | LapsangstoreSelected destinations |
$155.00 / 50 g | $310.00 |
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.
