Rongshui Wild Tea

Rongshui Wild Tea

　　Rongshui Miao Autonomous County is located at the northern foot of Liuzhou City. It is part of the eastern extension of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau mountain range, one of the birthplaces of world tea. The county contains four nature and wildlife reserves: the Jiuwanshan National Nature Reserve, Yuanbaoshan National Forest Reserve, Guangxi Giant Salamander Nature Reserve, and the Yuanbaoshan National Wild Tea Germplasm In-situ Conservation Area. The mountainous regions within the county have a forest coverage rate of over 87%, and tea-growing areas are mostly situated at elevations between 500 and 1,200 meters. The area is often shrouded in clouds and mist, offering an excellent ecological environment. Early spring tea harvesting usually begins around the Spring Festival, about 20 days earlier than in Hunan Province, making it one of the most suitable regions for developing high-quality high-mountain tea.

　　Rongshui boasts abundant wild tea resources, with large areas of wild old tea trees, native white tea, cliff tea, vine tea, and sweet tea spread across approximately 1,355 hectares, of which about 925 hectares are available for development and utilization. In 2013, the Ministry of Agriculture approved the establishment of Guangxi’s first wild tea germplasm resource conservation area — the “Yuanbaoshan Wild Tea Germplasm Resource In-situ Conservation Site.” In the same year, Rongshui became a research base for the “National Tea Industry Engineering Technology Research and Development Center — Liuzhou Sub-center for Germplasm Resource Development and Utilization.” To date, Rongshui has successfully developed a variety of distinctive tea products. These products have won numerous awards in regional and national tea competitions such as the “China Tea Cup,” “National Drink Cup,” and “Guilin Tea Cup.” Among them, the wild black tea “Miaoshan King (Ancient Tree Black)” and the organic green tea “Shuirongxiang” from Rongshui Shuirongxiang Company were designated as the official teas for the China-ASEAN Expo for three consecutive years from 2011 to 2013. The wild cliff tea from Rongshui Yuanbaoshan Company won the only premium gold award for specialty tea at the 2012 China (Shanghai) Tea Expo. At the 2014 China (Shanghai) Tea Expo, the wild and organic teas from Rongshui Yuanbaoshan and Shuirongxiang companies collectively earned one gold and three silver awards.

　　The unique high-mountain forest environment and abundant wild tea tree resources have laid a solid foundation for developing Rongshui’s high-mountain and specialty tea industry. With the support of governments at all levels and people from all walks of life, high-quality, distinctive, and efficient high-mountain tea brands from Rongshui are sure to be established.