Famous Tea Pingshan Fried Green

Famous Tea Pingshan Fried Green

Pingshan Fried Green is a Geographical Indication Protected Product.

Pingshan Fried Green is a Geographical Indication Certified Trademark.

Pingshan Fried Green is an Agricultural Geographical Indication Product.

　　Pingshan Fried Green is produced by the Pingshan County Famous and Quality Tea Corporation. The company's renowned tea "Longhu Cui" and high-quality tea "Pingshan Fried Green" are exported as green tea, scented tea, and refined tea cup series. Since the late 1980s, the famous tea "Longhu Cui" and the high-quality tea "Pingshan Fried Green" have won the Gold Award at the Sichuan Bashu Food Festival multiple times. In 1992, "Longhu Cui" won the Gold Award at the Asia-Pacific Food Expo. The products sell well both within and outside the province and are highly favored by friends from all walks of life.

　　Geographic Scope

　　Pingshan Fried Green is produced in 186 natural villages across 16 towns (townships) within the jurisdiction of Pingshan County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province. These include Jinping Town, Dacheng Town, Longhua Town, Zhongdu Town, Xinshi Town, Xin’an Town, Fuyan Town, Furong Town, Xiayi Township, Pingbian Township, Qingping Township, Xinfawei Township, Taiping Township, Longxi Township, Loudong Township, and Yachi Township. Pingshan County is located on the northern bank of the lower reaches of the Jinsha River, between 102°36′–104°23′ east longitude and 28°28′–28°51′ north latitude.

　　Natural Ecological Environment and Humanistic Historical Factors

　　(1) Soil and Topography: Pingshan Fried Green is produced in Pingshan County, Sichuan Province, at elevations of 600–1000 meters. The area features remnants of the Lesser Liangshan Mountain Range, including the Wuzhi Mountain (elevation 1350m) and the southern Sichuan’s highest peak—Laojun Mountain (elevation 2009m)—which run through the entire region. Over 40,000 acres of primeval forest act as a natural barrier. The soil consists mainly of mountain yellow earth and some purple soil. Soils with organic matter content greater than 3% account for 13.36%, and over 70% of the soils are acidic or slightly acidic, with pH values between 5.5 and 6.5—conditions especially suitable for tea tree growth. It is a natural pollution-free tea plantation base and an organic tea production area.

　　(2) Hydrology: Pingshan County has numerous streams and rivers, with steep riverbeds, significant gradients, and many seasonal rivers. There is a large difference between flood and dry-season flows. With Wuzhi Mountain as the watershed, the southern side belongs to the Jinsha River system, which includes major rivers such as the Xining River, Ban River, Yachi River, Yanmen River, and Zhenxi River. There are 12 natural rivers totaling 258 kilometers, 9 seasonal rivers totaling 157 kilometers, making 21 rivers with a combined length of 415 kilometers. Of these, 8 rivers are over 50 kilometers long, spanning 216 kilometers, with a catchment area of 1635 square kilometers. The runoff modulus is 23.5 liters/second/square kilometer, the runoff coefficient is 0.61, producing 742,000 cubic meters of water per average kilometer and 4,174 cubic meters of water per cultivated hectare.

　　(3) Climate: Pingshan has a mid-subtropical, continental monsoon humid climate, with distinct vertical climatic zones. The lower hills and mid-mountain areas enjoy mild climates, while the high mountains are cool. The four seasons are generally distinct, with relatively abundant rainfall and concurrent rain and heat. The crisscrossing valleys and significant vertical elevation differences contribute to a mild climate, ample rainfall, frequent mountain fog, rich biodiversity, and lush vegetation, with a forest coverage rate of 45.8% (nearly 60% in the main tea-producing areas). Rainfall distribution is uneven: the western region receives 800–1400 mm, the eastern region about 800–1200 mm, while the Jinsha River valley area gets only 800–900 mm. The northern region (Longhua area) receives the most rainfall, 1500–1800 mm, while the Zhongdu area gets the least, around 800 mm. The regional differences in light and temperature are the opposite of those in rainfall.

　　As the county borders the tail end of the Liangshan Mountain Range and is crisscrossed by more than 30 large and small rivers and streams, along with the Wuzhi Mountain and the southern Sichuan’s highest peak, the steep valleys and significant elevation differences—combined with heat sources from the Zhongdu River and Jinsha River valleys—create a “distinct vertical climate” characterized by warm winters, cool summers, humid yet low sunlight, lingering fog, and large day-night temperature variations. These conditions promote the effective accumulation of substances in tea leaves, resulting in rich internal components. This provides natural conditions for forming the unique qualities of Pingshan Fried Green—“intense, lasting chestnut aroma and mellow, long-infusing taste.”

　　(4) Humanistic and Historical Background: Pingshan Fried Green features naturally high-quality raw materials and exquisite processing techniques (its processing emphasizes firing control; low-temperature long-firing creates a “long-infusing, sweet-aftertaste, high and lasting chestnut aroma,” and its water extract content is rich at over 41%, compared to around 30% for regular fried green teas). Its distinctive style—“tight, ash-green leaves, strong chestnut aroma, refreshing and mellow taste, long infusions, green liquor, and fresh leaves”—has consistently earned praise from people across various fields and is deeply loved by consumers. Pingshan was historically known as Pingyi County or Mapu Prefecture. According to the "Mapu Prefecture Records" compiled during the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing era: “Pingyi County produces tea…”; China’s first edition of the "Cihai" (Sea of Words) dictionary noted in its local specialties section: “Specialty ‘Pingshan Tea’…”; the "Pingshan County Annals" also praise “Pingshan Fried Green” with both text and images. Wang Yun, a nationally renowned tea expert who enjoys a State Council allowance, called Pingshan Fried Green “a masterpiece among green teas.” The nationally famous couplet master hailed it as “natural jade.” Since 1984, Pingshan Fried Green has been awarded the title of Sichuan High-Quality Green Tea for twelve consecutive sessions and serves as the original tea for Sichuan Fried Green sample production. The research and promotion of standardized production techniques for Pingshan Fried Green won the 2007 Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the Yibin Municipal People’s Government.