Chacai Tea

Chacai Tea

　　Chacai boasts uniquely superior natural conditions, making it highly suitable for tea production. By 1999, the total tea plantation area in the township reached 23,000 mu. The Chacai Maojian series of teas have won numerous international and domestic gold awards. In 1998, it was honored as a National Famous Product, and in 1999, “Luzhu Maojian” was ranked among the top ten premium teas of Hubei, taking the top spot. “Tianma Jianhao” tea is the only health tea in Hubei, having won several medals in national tea competitions. After jointly applying with health authorities for the national “Jian” (health) designation, it was approved as a national health beverage. In 2006, Chacai Maojian was awarded the title of “Hubei’s No.1 Famous Tea Brand” and received the designation of “China Famous Agricultural Product.”

　　Chacai is located in the western part of Wufeng, bordering the county town to the east, Badong to the west, Hefeng to the south, and leading out to the Qingjiang River to the north. The township covers an area of 300 square kilometers, with a population of 30,000 spread across 35 villages. It is both a veteran revolutionary base area and a concentration area for the Tujia ethnic group. Chacai is rich in resources, especially renowned for its tea. Even before the Opium Wars, British merchants traveled across the seas to Chacai Tai and Sa Hua Xi, setting up factories and shops to trade in Chacai’s selenium-rich tea. Their iconic signboard, “British Firm Baoshunhe Tea House,” is still preserved at the Chacai Maojian Group today.

　　The earliest development, largest scale, and greatest variety of premium teas are the hallmarks of Chacai’s tea production. In 1997, provincial tea experts conducted a special investigation and confirmed that Chacai is not only Hubei’s No.1 tea township but also Hubei’s No.1 premium tea township—earning it the title “Chu Tian’s No.1 Tea Township.” Tea has become the backbone of the township’s economy, accounting for half of its economic output. Tea tax revenue alone makes up 40% of the county’s total tea tax and 50% of the township’s fiscal income, while tea income constitutes 30% of the per capita net income of local farmers. In recent years, the industrialization of tea has accelerated, forming a complete tea industry chain consisting of one group (Chacai Maojian Group), two premium teas (Chacai Maojian and Tianma Jianhao), over 20,000 mu of tea bases, and involving 8,000 farming households. The excellent production environment, along with unique soil, climate, and water conditions, endow Chacai tea with superior internal quality. The township Party committee and government decisively decided to further develop the tea industry. In line with the goals of building a large industry, achieving large-scale production, and ensuring high efficiency, they mobilized the entire Party and populace to fully implement the “Chacai Maojian Tea High-Tech Series Development” project. The main measures and objectives are: revitalizing the township through one industry (tea), driven by two forces (private enterprise and technology), and doubling tea income within three years.

　　Historical Legends

　　Good tea comes from Chacai in the southern part of the Xiling Mountains. There stands an ancient, weather-beaten tea tree known as the “Tea Tree King,” which remains lush and vibrant to this day. Around it grow eight smaller tea trees, said to be the incarnations of the goddess Yihuo and her eight children. According to the Tujia epic *Tima Shen’ge*, long ago in the misty tea mountains south of the ancient Xiling region, there lived a hardworking and beautiful girl named Yihuo. She led a fairy-like life in the mountains. On the day of the Qingming Festival when she turned 18, Yihuo went up the mountain to work in the morning mist. Thirsty, she tried a sprig of tea buds but unexpectedly became pregnant upon returning home. After being pregnant for three years and six months, Goddess Yihuo gave birth to eight children. Unable to raise them all, she tearfully left the eight babies in the mountains to fate. Miraculously, these children were destined for greatness—they thrived on rain and dew, and a white tiger came daily to nurse them, raising them into adulthood. They settled and multiplied in the area, becoming the ancestors of the Tujia people.

　　To commemorate Goddess Yihuo, every year a Tujia “little maiden” who turns 18 on Qingming Festival is chosen. Dressed in festive attire, she is carried up the tea mountain in a flower sedan chair by four Tujia young men to perform ancestor worship rituals. Then, the “little maiden” climbs a wooden ladder and plucks fresh tea buds from the “Tea Tree King” with her delicate hands, which are then carefully processed by local tea masters. One year, a local Tusi king fell gravely ill, with no cure found by many doctors. He visited an elderly tea master’s home in Chacai, where his granddaughter offered a specially prepared, exquisite tea. The moment the Tusi king smelled the aroma, he felt revitalized. After drinking the tea, he recovered fully within three days, his face rosy and body strong as bronze. Moved by the miraculous effects of the tea and the beauty and kindness of the serving maiden, the Tusi king decreed that this tea and the maiden be regarded as tributes. When the emperor tasted the tea, he was delighted and, upon hearing the story of Yihuo, named the tea “Yuhelu” (“Rain and Grain Dew”). To this day, Qingming Festival marks the Chacai Maojian tea-picking season, and the ancestor worship ceremony is celebrated even more grandly.