Qianshan Heshan Black Tea

Qianshan Heshan Black Tea

Qianshan Heshan Black Tea is an agricultural product with geographical indication status.

　　Category: Tea Product Name: Qianshan Heshan Black Tea Registration Certificate No.: AGI01105 Announcement No. from the Ministry of Agriculture: No. 1925 (April 15, 2013) Brief Introduction to Humanistic History Qianshan has a long history of tea production. As early as the Song Dynasty, Qianshan tea was offered as a tribute. The "Qianshan County Annals" records: “As early as the Song Dynasty, Qianshan produced Zhou Mountain Tea, Baishui Tuan Tea, and Xiaolongfeng Tuan Tea. During the Xuande and Zhengde eras of the Ming Dynasty (1426–1521), Qianshan also produced famous teas such as Xiaozhong Heshang, Yulu, Teegong, Gonghao, Gongyu, and Huaxiang.” Starting from the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, Hekou gradually became a major inland water transport hub in southern China and a large trading market for tea and paper processing and transshipment (as noted in "General History of China"). Heshan Black Tea thus rose to prominence in national and even global trade. The "Qianshan County Annals" states: “By the Wanli era (1573–1620), 'Heshang' tea had gained widespread fame, prompting merchants from other regions to flock to Hekou, Shitang, and Chenfang to place orders.” According to the 1593 edition of the "Xinzhou Prefecture Annals": “Heshan Black Tea is the most renowned black tea in China and the first Chinese tea ever exported abroad.”

　　The county seat of Qianshan County, Hekou Town, is one of the four ancient famous towns of Jiangxi. It served as an important market town for selling local products such as paper, tea, copper, and iron, and enjoys the reputation of “Hekou’s tea market connects the world, and the Heshan tea trade reaches all of China.” Qianshan’s “Heshan Black Tea” has a long history. According to the 1602 edition of the "Qianshan•Food and Goods Record": “Qianshan Heshan Black Tea is the most famous black tea in China and the first Chinese tea ever exported abroad,” making it the progenitor of Chinese black tea and earning it the title “Queen of Teas.”

　　The highest quality tea comes from its place of origin. The main growing areas of Qianshan Heshan Black Tea are within a radius of over 100 li (approximately 50 km) around Huanggang Mountain, the main peak of the Wuyi Mountains. This includes areas under the jurisdiction of Tianzhushan Township, Huangbi Township, Taiyuan Township, Hufang Town, Gexianshan Township, Yingjiang Township, and Wuyishan Town, covering a protected area of 1,200 hectares. The region features low temperatures year-round, abundant rainfall, high humidity, and long periods of fog — ideal conditions for tea cultivation. Currently, with support from local quality supervision departments, the county is actively developing 400 hectares of standardized ecological tea gardens and systematically upgrading over 300 hectares of low-yield, inefficient old tea gardens, establishing a solid raw material base for producing high-quality black tea.

　　Making fine Qianshan tea available to the world has always been a goal for the people of Qianshan. After the liberation, the local government made revitalizing the tea industry a breakthrough for economic development. In 1956, a state-owned Hekou Tea Farm was established west of the county town, producing over 3,000 dan (a traditional unit of weight) of Heshan Black Tea and resuming tea exports to Japan, Singapore, Europe, America, and Hong Kong. In 1958, Qianshan tea was even awarded a State Council certificate personally endorsed by the Premier. In recent years, the county has implemented a traditional industry revitalization project, encouraging private enterprises to develop the traditional Heshan Black Tea brand. The government has introduced preferential policies to support leading tea companies and various cooperatives in consolidating and developing tea gardens through leasing, shareholding cooperation, and other models. It also guides enterprises to adopt joint ventures, equity participation, mergers, and leasing to foster a group of competitive and influential leading companies. Quality supervision departments have followed up promptly, formulating the "Qianshan County (2011–2015) Famous Brand Development and Cultivation Plan," providing technical and policy assistance in brand building, striving to help local tea enterprises establish themselves as well-known brands both nationally and within the province. Under government leadership, five major product series have been developed: Gongyu Heshan Black Tea Series, Longlin Fengyu Heshan Black Tea Series, Tianzi Heshan Red Series, Chan Cha Heshan Red Series, and Zhuyun Heshan Red Series.

　　High-quality tea also relies on excellent production techniques. After losing the application for geographical indication protection of “Zhengshan Xiaozhong” black tea, Qianshan’s first move in developing black tea was to apply for national “intangible cultural heritage” status for Heshan Black Tea production techniques, as the region still preserved these traditional methods. To promote and refine these techniques, local tea-making masters were gathered to improve production processes, ensuring that the traditional skills not only retained rich scientific elements but also possessed unique characteristics. Vigorous efforts were made to secure intangible cultural heritage status for Heshan Black Tea production. Meanwhile, the local quality supervision bureau actively prioritized Heshan Black Tea in the application for food production licenses, offering comprehensive technical support in aspects such as factory planning, QS application materials, quality control of traditional processes, inspection and testing, and packaging labeling, encouraging tea enterprises to pursue standardized production.

　　In 2009, the production techniques of Qianshan Heshan Black Tea were listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Jiangxi Province and included in the province’s key list for national intangible cultural heritage application. Tea leaves from the origin of Qianshan Heshan Black Tea were tested by the National Quality Inspection Center, with all 13 pesticide residue indicators showing zero detection. It has received geographical indication protection from the Ministry of Agriculture and been awarded the title of Famous Tea of Jiangxi Province.

　　Currently, the black tea industry is thriving across Qianshan, and tea culture has naturally blended into the heritage of the local ancient towns. Tea has become an important source of income for local farmers, aligning perfectly with the local government’s work theme of “enhancing industry quality, increasing agricultural efficiency, beautifying towns, and boosting tourism.” Over 2,000 hectares of tea gardens are being vigorously developed, with an annual tea output of 742 tons and total output value of 168 million yuan, benefiting 20,000 tea farming households and generating an average income of 9,000 yuan per farmer.

　　Qianshan Heshan Black Tea

　　Geographic Scope

　　Qianshan County is located in the northeast of Jiangxi Province, bordered by Fujian to the south along the Wuyi Mountains, with East China’s highest peak — Huanggang Mountain — straddling the border, the Xin River to the north, and proximity to Zhejiang to the east. The geographic protection scope of Qianshan Heshan Black Tea includes seven townships (towns): Tianzhushan Township, Huangbi Township, Taiyuan Township, Hufang Town, Gexianshan Township, Yingjiang Township, and Wuyishan Town. The protected area lies between longitude 117°44′03″ to 117°70′41″ and latitude 27°48′19″ to 28°31′77″, covering a protected area of 1,200 hectares with an annual yield of 270 tons.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　1. External Sensory Characteristics: Golden tips visible, tightly rolled and uniform strips, dark lustrous color; bright red liquor, rich and sweet aroma; mellow taste with a quick and pleasant aftertaste. 2. Internal Quality Indicators: Moisture content 2.3%–4.5%, water extract 35.6%–45.5%, total ash 4.5%–6.1%, theaflavin 2.3%–3.7%, caffeine 3.1%–4.6%, tea polyphenols 7.1%–8.9%, amino acids 2.2%–3.6%, total sugars 2.8%–4.1%. 3. Quality and Safety Requirements: ① The origin environment quality of Qianshan Heshan Black Tea meets the requirements of "Green Food – Tea Growing Environment Conditions" (NY/T391-2000). ② The production of Qianshan Heshan Black Tea must comply with the "Green Food – Tea Production Technical Regulations" (NY/T288-2002).