Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea

Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea

Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea is a geographical indication protected product.

Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea is one of the tea varieties produced in Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou Province. It is named after Mount Fanjing, the main peak of the Wuling Mountain Range within the county. The raw materials are sourced from Fuding Dabai tea cultivars grown at elevations of 800–1300 meters on Mount Fanjing. The tea features “tender green and fresh luster, uniformity, cleanliness; lasting delicate fragrance with prominent chestnut aroma; fresh and mellow taste; bright and clear tender green liquor; intact, fine, tender, uniform, and bright green buds and leaves.” It has won unanimous praise from industry experts and the affection of consumers. In 2005, it was approved as a geographical indication protected product.

　　Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea is produced in Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, located on the western foothills of Mount Fanjing, the main peak of the Wuling Mountain Range. Covering an area of about a hundred square kilometers, Mount Fanjing is one of the richest and best-preserved green treasure troves of biological resources at the same latitude on Earth. It has been included in the United Nations’ “Man and Biosphere Reserve Network” and was designated as a national nature reserve by the State Council in 1986. Yinjiang County, situated on the western foothills of Mount Fanjing, has a subtropical warm and humid monsoon climate, with warmth and humidity occurring in the same season, and rain and heat coinciding. The county enjoys abundant rainfall, with an annual precipitation of around 1100 millimeters, an average annual temperature of 16.8°C, and annual sunshine duration of up to 1296 hours. With nearly 300 frost-free days and an annual sunshine rate below 35%, the area often experiences cloudy or overcast weather with soft, diffused light. There is neither high-temperature heat damage nor severe freezing cold, allowing shade-loving tea trees to more effectively utilize blue-purple and ultraviolet light, enhancing photosynthesis and promoting the accumulation of effective components such as amino acids, caffeine, and aromatic substances in new tea shoots. This improves the aroma, flavor, and overall quality of the finished tea. The main soil types in the county include yellow soil, yellow-brown soil, red soil, and purple soil, all acidic with pH values between 4.5 and 6. These soils are characterized by rapid maturation, moderate fertility, and good water retention, fertility retention, and air permeability, along with rich organic matter content. These unique natural factors contribute to the distinctive quality of Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea.

　　　　Yinjiang County has a long history of tea cultivation and has traditionally been known for producing famous teas. According to the *Ming Veritable Records* from the Ming Dynasty: “The finest local product of Sizhou is tea.” During the Ming Dynasty, the Tuanlong Village in Yongyi Township of Yinjiang County was under the jurisdiction of the Langxi Man Yi Chiefdom Office and belonged to Sizhou. The Tuanlong tea produced in the deeply mountainous Tuanlong Village of Yongyi Township, nestled within Mount Fanjing, can be traced back to the 11th century. In 1411 (the ninth year of the Ming Yongle era), it was presented as a tribute to the royal court and was bestowed the title of tribute tea. In the early 21st century, more than 30 ancient tea trees planted in the 15th century still stood in Tuanlong Village, Yongyi Township, among which the largest, according to expert verification, is the largest and healthiest tea tree in China, hailed as the “King of Chinese Tea Trees.”

　　　The large-scale standardized cultivation of tea in Yinjiang County began in 1987, when the county listed the tea industry as a “pillar industry” for vigorous development. In 2003, leveraging the Grain for Green Program, the tea industry saw further momentum, leading to significant growth. In 2007, the county initiated another round of tea industry development. Based on advantages such as ecology, climate, region, tea quality and charm, and tea culture, a strategy to develop premium teas was implemented. This led to rapid and steady growth in the tea industry, with the establishment of the Yinjiang Fanjing Mountain High-Quality Green Tea Base and the formation of an integrated tea industrialization model encompassing production, processing, marketing, branding, and tea culture. By 2010, the county had become a major tea-producing region in Guizhou Province, boasting 210,000 acres of green tea bases, including over 85,000 acres of productive tea gardens, 2,000 acres of organically certified tea gardens, and 44,800 acres of pollution-free certified tea gardens. The county had over 38,000 tea-farming households and 35 tea production and processing enterprises, including two provincial-level leading enterprises, four prefectural-level leading enterprises, four with food safety production QS certification, two with export rights, one with ISO9000 system certification, and one with GAP certification. The county also had one tea trading market and 17 fresh tea trading markets. The construction of a 50,000-ton tea refining and processing factory was fully launched. In 2011, the county’s total tea production exceeded 2,500 tons, with an output value of over 330 million yuan. A series of premium teas were also developed, including “Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea,” “Fanjing Mountain Emerald Sprout,” “Fanjing Mountain Tribute Tea,” “Fanjing Mountain Snow Peak,” and “Fanjing Mountain Buddha’s Light Tea.”

　　　The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, in accordance with the *Regulations on the Protection of Geographical Indication Products*, reviewed the application for the geographical indication protection of Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea. Upon approval, the administration announced the implementation of geographical indication product protection for Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea under Announcement No. 175 of 2005, effective immediately.

　　Scope of Protection

　　　　The geographical indication product protection scope of Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea is based on the range proposed in the document “Letter on Applying for the Implementation of Original Geographical Product Protection for ‘Fanjing Mountain Emerald Peak Tea’” (Yin Fu Han [2004] No. 25) issued by the People’s Government of Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou Province. It covers the administrative regions of 17 townships in Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County: Yangxi Town, Yangliu Township, Chanxi Town, Luochang Township, Langxi Town, Heshui Town, Yongyi Township, Muhuang Town, Xinye Township, Tiantang Town, Daoba Township, Shanshu Township, Banxi Town, Shazibo Town, Zhongba Township, Xinzhai Township, and Eling Town.