Badong Zhenxiangming Tea

Badong Zhenxiangming Tea

　　Badong Zhenxiangming Tea is a specialty of Badong County in Enshi Prefecture, Hubei Province. It is a tea unique to Badong and was historically a renowned local product. With a long history and superior quality, it is famous for its pale appearance and highly aromatic leaves.

　　Badong Zhenxiangming Tea has a long history and is extensively recorded in ancient texts: the Eastern Jin Dynasty’s "Tongjun Herbal Collection" states, “The Badong Commandery produces Zhenxiangming Tea, which, when brewed, prevents sleep”; the Liang Dynasty’s "Shuyi Ji" notes, “Badong Zhenxiangming Tea has white flowers like roses”; the Tang Dynasty’s Lu Yu in "The Classic of Tea" writes, “Tea is a fine plant of the south, ranging from one to two feet, or even dozens of feet tall, with some in the Bashan and Shanchuan regions so large that it takes two people to encircle them”; the Ming Dynasty’s Yuanqing in "Tea Spectrum" mentions, “There are many kinds of tea produced throughout the world… Qiuzhou has thin slices, and Badong has Zhenxiangming Tea, both of which are widely renowned”; "Yu Di Ji Sheng" records: “The county has Badong, named after the Jinzi Mountain it relies on. The mountain produces tea with a slightly pale color—this is what is called Badong Zhenxiangming Tea.”

　　The majestic and vast Three Gorges of Badong feature surging river waters, overlapping cliffs, and a grand atmosphere. To the west lie the clouds and rains of Wushan, and to the east, the refreshing air of Yiling. The undulating hills and crisscrossing streams provide excellent diffused lighting conditions, along with a relatively mild, three-dimensional climate. Surrounded by mist and blessed with abundant rainfall, these superior natural conditions and ecological environment create ideal circumstances for tea production.

　　Badong County Sanhuan Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd. has integrated tea industry resources and formed the Zhenxiangming Tea Consortium, leading tea farmers from 12 towns and 130 villages across the county toward prosperity, revitalizing Badong’s tea industry and restoring the glory of this thousand-year-old historical brand—Zhenxiangming Tribute Tea. The company has invested over 2 million yuan in the construction of tea plantation bases and the purchase of production equipment, bringing the tea cultivation area to 22,000 mu. At the same time, it has implemented a tea branding strategy, enabling the Tang Dynasty tribute tea, Zhenxiangming, to go global and reach the world.

　　In 2008, “Zhenxiangming” tea was honored as a “China Well-Known Brand” and “China Historical and Cultural Famous Tea”; in 2009, it won the Gold Award at the Central China (Wuhan) Tea Expo, earning recognition and support from the Hubei Provincial Department of Agriculture and the Hubei Tea Society. The product is sold as far as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen in Guangdong, with some premium varieties exported to countries such as the United States, Canada, South Korea, and Japan.