The Ancient Tea King

Ancient Tea King

According to research by experts, Xishuangbanna is the birthplace of the world’s tea and the earliest place where humans began cultivating tea. This can be confirmed by two ancient tea trees known as the Ancient Tea Kings. These two ancient tea trees have now become living specimens for research and new tourist attractions, especially intriguing to tea scholars and botanists.

One is located in the valley of Hesong Village, Badaxiang, approximately 60 kilometers southwest of Menghai County. The original tree stood 32.12 meters tall but was broken by strong winds in 1967. It now stands 14.7 meters high with a diameter of 0.9 meters. Experts have confirmed that this tree is of a wild tea species and is the source variety of cultivated tea trees. With an age of over 1,700 years, it is a miracle of China’s tea cultivation and serves as living evidence for the study of tea origins and history.