Guzhu Tribute Tea House

　　   Guzhu Tribute Tea House was first built in the fifth year of the Dali era during the Tang Dynasty (770 AD). It was the site where the tribute tea Guzhu Zisun was supervised and produced, and can be considered the earliest recorded tea processing workshop in Chinese history. The Zisun tea produced in Guzhu Mountain, Changxing, was a tribute tea during the Tang Dynasty. Prominent local officials such as Yuan Gao, Du Mu, and Yan Zhenqing personally oversaw the production of the tribute tea, leaving behind many inscriptions. In the fifth year of the Dali era (770 AD), 500 bundles were first offered as tribute; by the middle of the Huichang era (841–846 AD), the annual tribute had increased to 18,400 jin. During the production of tribute tea, it was managed by the “prefectural governor, overseen by the regional inspector.” By the Yuan Dynasty, the Tribute Tea House was converted into a Tea Grinding House, and its location was moved to Shuikou. Today, although the Guzhu Tribute Tea House is in ruins, the remains of the site are still distinguishable.

　　   The Guzhu Mountain Cliff Inscriptions are located in Guzhu Village and Jinshan Village, Shuikou Township. The existing cliff inscriptions on Guzhu Mountain mainly include the inscription by Yang Hangan, Prefect of Huzhou from the fourth year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (839 AD), the inscription by Wang Zao, Academician of Longtu Pavilion from the seventh year of the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1138 AD), the inscription by Han Yuyin from the thirty-second year of the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1162 AD), the inscription by Yuan Gao, Prefect of Huzhou from the third year of the Huichang era of the Tang Dynasty (843 AD), the inscription by Yu Xiu, Military Prefect of Huzhou from the eighth year of the Zhenyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (792 AD), and the inscription by Du Mu, Prefect of Huzhou from the fifth year of the Dazhong era of the Tang Dynasty (851 AD). The cliff inscriptions on Guzhu Mountain and the ruins of the Tribute Tea House are valuable historical materials for the study of tea cultivation, tea production, and tea culture. Many of the inscribers were renowned calligraphers of their time, giving the inscriptions high artistic value in terms of calligraphy.

　　   In 2006, the ruins of Guzhu Tribute Tea House and the cliff inscriptions were approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.