八仙单丛八仙單叢

Bāxiān Dāncōng

Ba Xian Dancong

reviewed

idfenghuang-ba-xian

fenghuang-ba-xian

One of the most celebrated clonal lineages of Fenghuang Dancong ("Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea"), traced to eight surviving second-generation trees at Wudong Liziping (1,050 m) and classified inside the Zhi Lan Xiang (orchid) family.

Category

Oolong tea Oolong tea 乌龙茶

Style

Guangdong oolong

Part of

Phoenix Dancong

Forms

Loose leaf

Region

Wudong Shan
Guangdong › Chaozhou › Chao'an › Fenghuang
Fenghuang
Guangdong › Chaozhou › Chao'an

Cultivars

Fenghuang Shuixian

Harvest

Spring (picked last among spring Dancong lines around 22 April, traditionally called 收山茶 "closing-the-mountain tea"). Optimal belt above 600–1,050 m.

Definitions

1 2 3

Character#

Penetrating high-mountain orchid and white-magnolia floral fragrance with an assertive, bittersweet entry that rapidly transforms into a deep, cooling, honeyed throat return (回甘) and lasting bush rhyme (丛韵).

Processing#

Dancong processing

晒青
凉青
做青
杀青
揉捻
干燥
烘焙

As in Phoenix Dancong. Because Ba Xian has a very high tea-polyphenol content (35.8% in the 2001 monograph), skilled bruising and firing are needed to convert initial bitterness into its signature intense returning sweetness (回甘).

Also sold or written as 5#

Chinese variants

八仙过海Bā xiān guò hǎi(Ba Xian Guo Hai)Ba Xian Guo Hai ("Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea")Full traditional name ("Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea"), given because only eight layered/cutting saplings survived in one mountain hollow at Wudong Liziping (1,050 m).

Romanisations

Baxian Dancong

Translations and trade names

Ba Xian
Eight Immortals Dancong
Ba Xian Guo Hai

Names and ambiguities#

Air-layering vs cuttings and the 1898 / 1958 dates

Zhongguo chashu pinzhongzhi (2001, pp. 225–226) and the China Tea Science Society (2022) state that Wudong Liziping farmers propagated a Song-descended mother tree at Fengxi Yahou by air-layering (压条) in 1898, whereas T/CZTTBZ 001—2021 Appendix A.2 describes farmer Wen Hun (文混) propagating hundreds of cuttings (扦插) from Da Wu Ye. All three sources agree that only eight saplings survived in one hollow at Liziping (1,050 m) and that large-scale clonal planting began in 1958.

4 5 6

Notes#

Botanical monograph and the eight giant second-generation trees#

《中国茶树品种志》 (2001, pp. 225–226) gives 八仙过海单枞 (alias 八仙单枞) a full national cultivar monograph as an asexual small-arbor mid-leaf clone selected from Fenghuang Shuixian. It records that the eight surviving second-generation trees on Wudong Shan reached up to 7.0 m in height with an 8.0 m crown span, and that over 130 ha (~2,000 mu) had been planted across the Fenghuang mountain zone by 2001, performing best above 600 m.

Its leaves are horizontal, narrow-elliptic (9.7 × 3.4 cm), deep glossy green with slightly undulate margins, 8 pairs of lateral veins and 30 pairs of fine teeth. One hundred one-bud-three-leaf shoots weigh 90.0 g; spring shoots contain 1.9% amino acids, 35.8% tea polyphenols, 20.9% catechins and 49.0% water extract—one of the highest polyphenol and catechin concentrations documented among Fenghuang clones, explaining its famous bitter-to-sweet power.

Why Ba Xian is called "closing-the-mountain tea" (收山茶)#

Appendix A.2 of T/CZTTBZ 001—2021 records the eight trees at Wudong Liziping (1,050 m, 3.24 m average height in the 2009 survey, 13.7 kg combined peak annual yield) under the Zhi Lan Xiang Dancong (orchid) aroma family. Because its shoots reach maturity later in spring than other high-mountain Dancong lines (~22 April in the 2001 monograph), Wudong tea households pick Ba Xian last at the end of the spring harvest and call it 收山茶 ("closing-the-mountain tea").

4 5 6

Where to buy#

Ships to Show prices in

Price ranks compare recorded retail offers for the same tea, including offers outside the current delivery filter. Shipping and import charges are excluded.

Sort by Prices compared in the selected currency; unknown values appear last.

Product	Vendor	Price	Per 100 g
Ba Xian Dancong Oolong Lowest of 6 Ba Xian Dancong Stated year: 2026 Claimed origin: Wudong Shan Details Compare 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. Cultivar Ba Xian (Shui Xian) Roast roasted 3 times Area as stated Wudong Village, 600 m Tree age / type 60 years	Purple Cloud Tea House Selected destinations Limited coverage: USA. Only some destinations are covered. Check the shipping policy for your address. USA Shipping policy	$39.00 / 125 g	$31.20 ≈ $2.50 a session
Ba Xian Sha Ren Phoenix Dancong Oolong Ba Xian Dancong Stated year: — Claimed origin: Fenghuang Mountain, Chaozhou, Guangdong, China Details and price notes Compare 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. Cultivar Ba Xian Packaging role Repacked by vendor Shop base currency EUR. Includes French VAT (TTC); excludes shipping.	Thés et Dynastie Selected destinations Limited coverage: EU. Only some destinations are covered. Check the shipping policy for your address. EU Shipping policy	€36.00 / 100 g	$40.37 €36.00 / 100 g ≈ $3.23 a session
Phoenix Dancong Ba Xian Canister Ba Xian Dancong Stated year: — Claimed origin: Fenghuang, Chaozhou, Guangdong, China Details and price notes Compare 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. Cultivar Ba Xian (Eight Immortals) Packaging role Repacked by vendor 50g canister at HKD 388.00	The Natural Tea Co. Selected destinations Hong Kong · Macau · USA · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · UK · Europe Shipping policy	HK$388.00 / 50 g	$98.87 HK$776.00 / 100 g ≈ $7.91 a session
Phoenix Dancong Eight Immortals Lower quarter of 6 Ba Xian Dancong Stated year: 2025 Claimed origin: Fenghuang Details Compare 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. Cultivar Ba Xian Area as stated Zhuliu Village, 600 m	The Natural Tea Co. Selected destinations Hong Kong · Macau · USA · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · UK · Europe Shipping policy	HK$388.00 / 50 g	$98.87 HK$776.00 / 100 g ≈ $7.91 a session
Ba Xian Dancong Oolong Mid-range of 6 Ba Xian Dancong Leaf harvest year: 2024 Claimed origin: not stated	Teekenner Selected destinations Limited coverage: EU, UK. Only some destinations are covered. Check the shipping policy for your address. EU · UK · Switzerland Shipping policy	€54.40 / 40 g	$152.52 €136.00 / 100 g ≈ $12.20 a session
Ba Xian Dancong Oolong Mid-range of 6 Ba Xian Dancong Leaf harvest year: 2026 Claimed origin: not stated	Teekenner Selected destinations Limited coverage: EU, UK. Only some destinations are covered. Check the shipping policy for your address. EU · UK · Switzerland Shipping policy	€57.60 / 40 g	$161.50 €144.00 / 100 g ≈ $12.92 a session
Wu Dong Ba Xian Upper quarter of 6 Ba Xian Dancong Leaf harvest year: 2022 Claimed origin: not stated	Länggass-Tee Selected destinations Not delivered to: USA. Worldwide Shipping policy	CHF 95.00 / 50 g	$230.69 CHF 190.00 / 100 g ≈ $18.45 a session
Da'an Gushu Baxian Dancong Ba Xian Dancong Stated year: 2025 Claimed origin: Da'an Village, Fenghuang Town, Chaozhou, Guangdong Details and price notes Compare 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. Cultivar Baxian (Eight Immortals) Packaging role Repacked by vendor One can / 6 g tasting tin (variant 47475789889786); 50 g ($166.00), 100 g ($320.00), and 500 g ($1,500.00) cans also available.	Tong Xin She Teahouse Selected destinations USA · Canada · UK · EU · Australia · Other destinations Tong Xin She Teahouse	$20.00 / 6 g	$333.33 ≈ $26.67 a session
Wudong Phoenix Dancong Eight sold outHighest of 6 Ba Xian Dancong Stated year: 2025 Claimed origin: Wudong Shan Details Compare 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. Cultivar Ba Xian Area as stated Wudong Village, 1,300 m	The Natural Tea Co. Selected destinations Hong Kong · Macau · USA · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · UK · Europe Shipping policy	HK$1,600 / 50 g	$407.71 HK$3,200 / 100 g ≈ $32.62 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.

Prices by sales channel#

International retail

Show as table

Product	Vendor	Channel	per 100 g
Ba Xian Dancong Oolong	Purple Cloud Tea House	International retail	$31.20
Ba Xian Sha Ren Phoenix Dancong Oolong	Thés et Dynastie	International retail	$40.37
Phoenix Dancong Eight Immortals	The Natural Tea Co.	International retail	$98.87
Phoenix Dancong Ba Xian Canister	The Natural Tea Co.	International retail	$98.87
Ba Xian Dancong Oolong	Teekenner	International retail	$152.52
Ba Xian Dancong Oolong	Teekenner	International retail	$161.50
Wu Dong Ba Xian	Länggass-Tee	International retail	$230.69
Da'an Gushu Baxian Dancong	Tong Xin She Teahouse	International retail	$333.33
Wudong Phoenix Dancong Eight	The Natural Tea Co.	International retail	$407.71

Sources#

What these sources support

The Chaozhou geographical indication local standard DB4451/T 1—2021 defines Fenghuang Dancong as oolong tea manufactured within the protected Chaozhou area by traditional craft from lines and cultivars selected or bred from Fenghuang Shuixian (GSCT 17), categorizing finished teas into ten aroma types with physicochemical limits of ≤7.0% moisture and ≥30.0% water extract.
潮州市市场监督管理局 (hosted on chaozhou.gov.cn)
Full text · Clauses 3–5 (definition, Fenghuang Shuixian planting stock requirement, ten aroma types, and physicochemical table) · checked 2026-11-04
Scope and limits: Establishes the statutory GI specification for Chaozhou Fenghuang Dancong, whereas the voluntary national standard GB/T 30357.6-2017 defines Dancong generically without a geographic origin requirement.
Zhongguo Chashu Pinzhongzhi (2001, pp. 103–104) documents Fenghuang Dancong as a collective group of 80 superior lines selected from the sexual Fenghuang Shuixian population and named after tree habit, leaf morphology, or aroma, while Appendix A.2 of T/CZTTBZ 001—2021 catalogues 136 named mother bushes across 15 aroma groups.
上海科学技术出版社 · 2001
Full text · Cultivar monograph entry for Fenghuang Dancong (凤凰单枞), pp. 103–104, selection history, 80 lines, and separate harvesting/processing · checked 2026-11-04
Scope and limits: Documents how 'Dancong' evolved from single-bush selection and separate manufacture into propagated clonal lines, meaning a modern Dancong packet is almost always clonal garden tea unless single-tree provenance is independently verified.

DB4451/T 1—2021 地理标志产品凤凰单丛（枞）茶 (Chaozhou local standard, published 2021-04-08, in force 2021-10-08)

Standardsaccessed 2026-10-18
GB/T 30357.6-2017 乌龙茶第6部分：单丛 (全国标准信息公共服务平台 record)

Standardsaccessed 2026-10-18
Catalogue metadata only; not the full clauses. It identifies status, dates, CCS/ICS and competent bodies.
Technical specifications for registration of geographical indication: 凤凰单丛 / Fenghuang Dan Cong (PGI-CN-2696)

Government and public institutionsaccessed 2026-10-18
English-language PDF, 2 pages. It gives the China protection date, the product description, a coordinate and elevation box for the area, and climate and soil data.
中国茶树品种志 (2001)

Books and monographs
T/CZTTBZ 001—2021 凤凰单丛（枞）茶质量分级 (group standard; Appendix A2 lists named bushes by aroma type, village, elevation and age, taken from 邱陶瑞《潮州茶叶》2009)

Standardsaccessed 2026-10-18
茶科普 | 凤凰单丛（四）——芝兰香 (陈少平, 中国茶叶学会)

Reference worksaccessed 2026-10-18
Dated 2022-01-19. Profiles ten 芝兰香 bushes. Parts (二) 黄栀香 and (三) 蜜兰香 exist but were not found.

Show all sources 9Show fewer sources

T/CZTTBZ 002—2021 凤凰单丛（枞）茶命名规则

Standardsaccessed 2026-10-18
Group standard, 5 pages, published 2021-11-11 and in force 2021-12-02. Annex A cites 潮市监〔2021〕33号 on unifying the product name; that report was not found.
Jiemian (reprint from 茶语网) — Phoenix Dancong ten aroma types and representative bushes (2017-03-15)

Reporting and journalismaccessed 2026-10-18
Zhou Chunjuan et al. Classification and Identification of Different Aromatics in Tea Made from Different Cultivar of Fenghuang Dancong. Journal of Tea Science 2014, 34(6):609–616. DOI 10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2014.06.023

Academic researchaccessed 2026-10-19
Primary research abstract. Seventeen finished Dancong samples; chemical clustering at the stated similarity threshold is not a universal replacement for traditional aroma categories.