Pan’an Eco Longjing

Pan’an Eco Longjing

　　Pan’an Eco Longjing is a specialty of Pan’an County, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province. The tea features flat, straight, and elegant leaves with a glossy and uniform appearance. Its color is emerald green with a treasured sheen, and it offers a fragrant, refreshing aroma, a mellow and pleasant taste, and a bright, fresh green liquor.

　　Pan’an County is situated in central Zhejiang, with rolling mountains, beautiful waters, and a landscape often veiled in mist. The ecological environment here is exceptionally superior. As early as the year 2000, Pan’an was among the first group of regions designated as a National Ecological Demonstration Zone. In 2002, it was named the Hometown of Eco Longjing Tea.

　　Tea production has a long history in Pan’an. Legend has it that during the Jin Dynasty, the Taoist priest Xu Xun traveled to Yushan in Pan’an to preach. After tasting the particularly fragrant tea offered by a local tea farmer, he was so enchanted that he decided to stay. At the time, the farmers were worried due to poor tea sales and piles of unsold leaves. Upon seeing the lush tea fields and mounds of tea leaves, Xu Xun chose to remain and help them solve the problem. He taught the tea farmers how to improve processing techniques while preserving the tea’s natural green quality and white downy fuzz, leading to the creation of “Wuzhou Dongbai.” Meanwhile, he sent his disciples to promote the tea far and wide. As a result, merchants from all directions came to purchase the tea, making Yushan’s supply insufficient to meet demand. Yushan’s ancient tea market thus became Pan’an’s earliest tea trading hub. During the Tang Dynasty, the “Wuzhou Dongbai” produced in the nearby Dapan Mountain area was listed as a tribute tea. The well-preserved ancient Yushan Tea Market in Pan’an, originally built in the Song Dynasty and renovated in the Qing Dynasty, covers an area of 3,000 square meters and is the only surviving ancient tea market in China. On May 25, 2006, the Yushan Ancient Tea Market was approved by the State Council as part of the sixth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level for its status as a Qing Dynasty historical structure. To honor the contributions of Taoist priest Xu Xun to the tea farmers, the locals built a temple at the foot of the tea market mountain and enshrined a golden statue of him, holding an annual temple fair in his memory.

　　In 2007, Pan’an County had a total tea-growing area of 64,000 mu, yielding 2,123 tons of tea with a total output value of 140.13 million yuan. Among this, high-quality tea primarily consisting of Longjing varieties reached a production of 1,212 tons and a value of 99.38 million yuan, accounting for 53% of the county’s total tea output and 94% of its total tea output value. Tea contributed to 25% of the average rural income, especially in key tea-producing areas such as the Yushan region. According to an announcement by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on October 26, 2001, the Yushan area of Pan’an County was designated as a protected origin zone for Longjing tea. On January 8, 2002, the Pan’an County Government formally applied to the Organizing Committee for China’s Specialties Hometown Promotion and Publicity Campaign for the title of “China Pan’an · Hometown of Eco Longjing Tea.” In mid-March, the application was reviewed and approved by the committee. On April 8, the committee, together with the Specialty Economy Professional Committee of the China Society of Agricultural Sciences, officially named Pan’an County as “China Pan’an · Hometown of Eco Longjing Tea” in Beijing, making Pan’an the first county (or city) in China to receive this designation.