Mabian Green Tea

Mabian Green Tea

Mabian Green Tea is a geographical indication certification trademark.

Mabian Green Tea is an agricultural product geographical indication.

　　“Mabian Green Tea” has a long history and a profound industry foundation. Historical records show that tea production in Mabian dates back to the Han Dynasty. From wild tea picking to artificial cultivation, this practice has continued uninterrupted for over 1,000 years up to the present day. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Mabian tea was offered as tribute tea, and after the liberation, it was presented as a celebration gift for the 10th National Day to the great leader Chairman Mao. Before the Song Dynasty, Mabian produced wild coarse tea, and artificial cultivation began in the mid-Ming Dynasty. By the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period, Mabian had become one of the key tea production and sales areas in Sichuan Province. Fine tea was sold to Chengdu, Leshan, and Yibin, while coarse tea was mainly sold to ethnic (Tibetan) regions. After the liberation, the state unified the acquisition and management of tea. With guidance from agricultural technical departments and commercial sectors, tea production gradually recovered. By 1951, fine tea production had risen to 3,471 dan, and by 1955, coarse tea production reached 13,727 dan.

　　Natural Ecological Environment and Humanistic-Historical Factors

　　(1) Soil and Topography:

　　Topographic Features: Mabian County is located in the eastern part of the Hengduan Mountains, at the transition between the Sichuan Basin and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The terrain within the county is complex and diverse, featuring low mountains, mid-mountains, and sub-high mountains. The overall terrain is high in the southwest and low in the northeast. To the east is Huanglian Mountain, to the south is Chatie Mountain, to the west are Huangmaogang, Dafengding, and Jigong Mountain, and to the north is Yaoshi Mountain. The area is characterized by overlapping mountain ranges, crisscrossing gullies, steep slopes, numerous faults and folds, deep valleys and narrow gorges, heavily fragmented land surface, and very few flatlands. The highest elevation is 4,042 meters, the lowest is 448 meters, with a relative height difference of 3,954 meters.

　　Soil Features: In terms of soil types, purple soil covers the largest area, totaling 9,829 hectares, accounting for 54.99% of cultivated land; yellow soil covers 5,037 hectares, or 28.17% of the land area; paddy soil covers 2,600 hectares, or 10.67% of the land area. The soil pH value ranges from 4.5 to 6.5, with organic matter content as high as

　　4%-7%, indicating favorable physical and chemical properties suitable for the growth and development of Mabian Green Tea trees.

　　(2) Hydrological Conditions: Mabian Yi Autonomous County has an interwoven network of rivers and streams, belonging to both the Jinsha River system and the Minjiang River system. Major rivers include the Mabian River, Wahhei River, Tiejue River, Qiaoba River, Manao River, and Zhenjiangmiao River, connected by over 226 tributaries. The Qiaoba River flows southeast into the Jinsha River, while the Mabian River flows from west to east into the Minjiang River. The water quality in the production area is clean, suitable for producing high-quality Mabian Green Tea.

　　(3) Climatic Conditions: The tea planting region of Mabian Green Tea features a subtropical monsoon humid climate, with mild temperatures, distinct seasons, abundant precipitation, and significant vertical climatic variations. The average annual temperature is 16.9°C, annual rainfall is 1,044.3 mm, and relative humidity is 80%. The area is often shrouded in mountain mist—this unique climatic condition is ideal for the growth of Mabian Green Tea.

　　(4) Humanistic-Historical Background: The history of Mabian Green Tea cultivation is long-standing. Historical records indicate that during the Three Kingdoms period under the Shu Han, there was no passable route from Xinshi Town on the Jinsha River to Mabian. When Zhuge Liang campaigned southward, he led his troops up the Jinsha River to conquer the Greater and Lesser Liangshan regions and northern Yunnan. They landed at Anshang County (present-day Xinshi Town, Pingshan County), proceeded to Yidu (present-day Zhongdu Town, Pingshan County), passed through Qiaoba and then Mabian, opening up a strategic passage to Chengdu. “It was the height of summer, unbearably hot,” and the soldiers, suffering from thirst in that barren land, discovered a spring and drank from it eagerly—only to be poisoned, “all unable to speak, merely pointing to their mouths,” becoming mute. The Shu army was at a loss until they found wild Mabian Green Tea growing deep in the mountains and valleys, intertwined with orchids and azaleas, which they used along with herbs to counteract the poison.

　　The Northern Song Dynasty poet Huang Tingjian, while serving as an official in Yuzhou, wrote in his "Ode to the Bamboo Staff": “Majestic the beauty of Qionglai bamboo, with mountains but not rugged, waters but not turbulent, sounding like gold and structured like jade, thus unchanging through all four seasons. One such stalk gifted to me, I lean on it by the stream.” This describes the serene environment where Mabian Green Tea grows.

　　By the mid-Ming Dynasty, Mabian Green Tea began to be cultivated artificially, mainly because monks who meditated for long periods tended to get drowsy and needed tea to stay awake—hence the saying “tea and Buddhism are one flavor” (as recorded in the 1801 edition of “Mabian Ting Zhi Lue”). Today, many remnants of monk tea houses still exist in Mabian County.

　　In the 29th year of the Qianlong reign (1764), Xu Zhou’s Wang Qikun came to Mabian to plan the establishment of the district, traveling extensively throughout the county and composing “Eight Miscellaneous Poems on Yanfeng City.” One poem reads: “Left with clouds veiling tobacco flowers, right half-embracing a pipa. A pair of high coiled black hair buns, faintly distant like Mount Emei at dawn.” These elegant verses depict the graceful beauty of Mabian Green Tea.

　　Because Mabian Green Tea is known for being “plump buds with thick leaves, uniform and shaped like blossoms, clear green soup, sweet aftertaste, high fragrance and long-lasting brewability,” it became a treasured tea. In 1959, Mabian Green Tea was sent to Beijing as a gift for Chairman Mao. Moreover, Mabian is a Yi autonomous county, and the tea carries rich ethnic cultural significance. The Yi people drink tea when receiving guests from afar, during festivals, when planting or transplanting rice, and at weddings to cut grease and alcohol and symbolize health.

　　In the 10th year of the Republic of China, Yu Hongxian wrote in “Mabian Records”: “Mabian has always been known as a tea-producing region, but all tea was wild, none specially cultivated.” Later, after evaluation by provincial and municipal tea variety conferences, it was deemed a highly valuable new tea variety and a surviving strain of primitive tea trees. In the 19th year of the Republic of China, Mabian experimented with establishing a tea factory through the Reclamation Society, purchasing raw tea from Dazhubao,

　　improving its roasting process, and packaging improved Mabian Green Tea varieties such as “Longhu” and “Fengmei” totaling several hundred jin. In the 26th year of the Republic of China (1937), County Magistrate Yu Hongxian advocated for the rehabilitation of old tea trees, planting new ones, opening tea gardens, centralized cultivation, unified manufacturing and packaging, standardized quality, training technical workers, and adopting machinery to produce 20,000 dan of Mabian Green Tea annually, exclusively for export. In the 1980s, Mabian Green Tea products such as “Baiyan Yingchun Tea,” “Jianxin Qingming Tea,” and “Qiao Tea No. 3 and No. 4” were successively rated as Sichuan Famous and High-Quality Teas. Later, Mabian Green Tea products including “Baixiang Stir-Fried Green Tea,” “Baiyan Yingchun,” “Yongshan Yuye,” “Longhu Xuemei,” “Xiaoliangshan Maofeng,” and “Qiaoba Gongcha” won the Sichuan Famous Tea “Ganlu Cup” Award, the Western China Famous Tea Development “Lu Yu Cup” Award, and were recognized as “Famous and High-Quality Agricultural Products” at the Western China Agricultural Expo.

　　Currently, nearly 10,000 wild green tea trees remain in Mabian, distributed in deep mountains above 1,300m within the county (such as E’luo Village in Yuanjiaxi Township, Dengji’atu and Huoluogou in Yanfeng Township). Mabian has also been identified as one of the most suitable regions in western China for developing high-quality green tea. Mabian Green Tea has obtained certifications for 9,485 mu of pollution-free ecological tea gardens, 15,500 mu of Grade A green food tea gardens, and 20,026.3 mu of organic tea gardens. It has been named by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture as one of the “First Batch of High-Quality Tea Bases in Sichuan” and an “Export Tea Production Demonstration Base.” In January 2006, it was included in the National Green Agriculture Demonstration Zone construction counties by the China Green Food Development Center, China Green Food Association, and the Agricultural Projects Office of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2008, it was named a Sichuan Advantageous and Characteristic Benefit Agriculture Tea Base and confirmed as a core county for the province’s tea industry development at the Sichuan Tea Industry Development Work Conference. It holds the origin certification trademark for “Mabian Green Tea.” The county has over 60 high- and mid-level professional and technical personnel with rich theoretical knowledge and practical experience, over 870 farmer technicians, and technical support from Sichuan Agricultural University, Southwest Agricultural University, the Provincial Tea Research Institute, and relevant provincial and municipal departments. With the vigorous implementation of standardization, Mabian County has seen the emergence of well-known green tea brands such as “Forest Snow,” “Qiaoba Gongcha,” “Bianhe Yuye,” and “Wenbin Lüxue.”

　　Unique Quality

　　Flat-shaped Tea: The finished tea is flat and straight, smooth and uniform, with tender green color, high and lasting fragrance, bright green soup, fresh and mellow taste, and tender, even, bud-filled leaves that are bright green. Curled-shaped Tea: The strips are tightly rolled and slender, with prominent tips, tender green and glossy color, crystal-clear appearance, and a distinctive fleshy texture. It has a high and lasting fragrance, fresh and mellow taste, a slightly sweet aftertaste, and lingering aroma. The leaves are tender, even, naturally intact, and bright green. Stir-fried Green Tea: The appearance features tightly rolled strips with visible tips, oily green color, lasting fragrance, bright greenish soup, sweet and refreshing taste, and tender, even, intact, and bright leaves.

　　Cultural Stories

　　Due to historical and geographical factors, most tea farmers in Mabian still manage their tea gardens in relatively traditional ways. Coupled with the unique ecological environment, this gives “Mabian Green Tea” a distinctive quality and flavor among green teas.

　　Geographic Scope

　　The protected geographic indication area for Mabian Green Tea agricultural products includes 19 towns and 159 administrative villages in Mabian Yi Autonomous County, Leshan City, Sichuan Province: Minjian Town, Jianshe Township, Suba Township, Yanfeng Township, Gaozhuoying Township, Shaqiang Township, Sanhekou Township, Xuekoushan Township, Dazhubao Township, Zhenjiangmiao Township, Xiuxi Township, Rongding Town, Shiliang Township, Laodong Township, Minzhu Township, Laoheba Township, Qiaoba Township, Meiziba Township, and Yuanjiaxi Township. It spans from Dengjidian Village in Laohaoba Township in the east, to Yangziqiao Village in Gaozhuoying Township in the south, to Sheshuibei Village in Sanhekou Township in the west, to Yinxin Rock Village in Zhenjiangmiao Township in the north. The geographic coordinates are longitude 103°14′–103°49′ and latitude 28°25′–28°45′.

　　The geographical indication protection area for Mabian Green Tea includes 159 administrative villages across 19 townships in Mabian Yi Autonomous County, Leshan City, Sichuan Province: Minjian Town, Jianshe Township, Suba Township, Yanfeng Township, Gaozhuoying Township, Shaqiang Township, Sanhekou Township, Xuekoushan Township, Dazhubao Township, Zhenjiangmiao Township, Xiaxi Township, Rongding Town, Shiliang Township, Laodong Township, Minzhu Township, Laoheba Township, Qiaoba Township, Meiziba Township, and Yuanjiaxi Township. The area spans from Dengta Village in Laoheba Township in the east, to Yangziqiao Village in Gaozhuoying Township in the south, to Sheshuibei Village in Sanhekou Township in the west, and to Yinxinyan Village in Zhenjiangmiao Township in the north. Its geographical coordinates are between 103°14′–103°49′ east longitude and 28°25′–28°45′ north latitude.