Yongchang has a long history of Tea planting, processing, and drinking. This established the historical status of the ancient city of Yongchang as the first to come into contact with and inherit Tea culture in Western Yunnan. Moreover, Yongchang has always been a major town on the southwestern ancient Silk Road and the Tea Horse Road, serving as an important stopover between China and Southeast Asian countries and the first major town for Southeast Asian countries entering China. It was bustling with merchants. Naturally, tea, this ordinary commodity, became widespread among common households. At that time, the most famous tea in Yongchang was called “Taihua Tea.” Four hundred years ago, the great traveler Xu Xiake recorded in his travelogue one of his happiest and most unforgettable experiences in Yongchang. In early August 1639, when he wanted to cross the Lancang River to Lushi, “the elderly innkeeper surnamed Mei comforted me very well and specially brewed Taihua Tea for me to drink.” The tea had a long-lasting aftertaste, clear green color, strong aroma, and refreshing flavor, making one feel carefree and ethereal.
Yongchang has unique natural conditions suitable for tea growth, a rich variety of tea resources, and a long history of tea planting and processing. There are many ancient tea trees at the foot of Gaoligong Mountain in Mangkuan.
The Ancient Burmese Tea Garden and Legends about Tea
Seven kilometers west of Ganding Village is a hill called Qishuping, where there is an ancient tea garden covering more than 1,000 mu. Legend has it that these tea trees were planted by the Burmese, and locals still call them Burmese tea.
Ancient tea trees in Gaoligong Mountain
The ancient Burmese city of Fannan in Mangkuan (photographed by Fan Nan)
The tea trees in this garden are different from others. They have a thorny shape, long leaves with serrated edges, and do not produce flowers or fruit. The tea made from these trees has a greenish hue like bamboo leaves and a sweet taste that can refresh and invigorate those who drink it. Even now, people from the old society still occasionally gather this type of tea. Although no one manages this ancient tea garden, it continues to thrive despite repeated wildfires and human deforestation, remaining full of vitality.
In the Gaoligong Mountain within Tengchong's jurisdiction, large numbers of wild tea trees and ancient cultivated tea trees have also been discovered. According to relevant sources, the existence of wild and cultivated ancient tea trees is the foundation of tea culture. The existence of ancient tea gardens in Yongchang fills the historical gap of “Bao Shan never producing tea, with no discovery of wild tea to this day,” enriching the national and provincial tea resource treasure trove. This makes Bao Shan City part of the world's original tea-producing region. The De'ang people, known as the ancestors of tea, living in Yongchang are also evidence of the origins of tea culture. Ancient tea trees are listed as a second-class rare protected tree species.
In addition to the ancient tea garden in Qishuping Village, Mangkuan Township in Longyang District, there are other ancient tea tree attractions, such as the wild tea site at Huangzhuhao in Baihualing, the old tea garden in Laomang Mountain, the ancient chestnut garden tourist attraction, Tangxi Yang Bridge, Daliu, and others.
The following ancient tea-picking tune is popular in the Mangkuan area:
In the first month, tea picking marks the new year, opening the chest reveals two strings of coins,
one string of one hundred is hard to take, leaving nine hundred to pay for tea.
In the second month, tea sprouts, the man bends the tea tree while the girl picks tea,
he picks more, she picks less, they return home early regardless of how much.
In the third month, the tea leaves are green, under the tea tree, handkerchiefs are embroidered.
tea flowers are embroidered on both sides, and the tea picker is depicted in the middle.
In the fourth month, the tea leaves turn yellow, the maiden is busy at both ends in her home,
busy stoking the fire at home, busy picking tea in the mountains.
Long ago, in the mountains of Xishanliangzi in Yongchang, there was a small ethnic village where a person was sentenced to capital punishment. At this time, tea appeared in the market, but the people in the village did not know what it was or what it could be used for. They believed it was a poison used by outsiders to harm them, intending to poison the villagers to occupy their land. Upon hearing about this, the village chief decided to test the nature of tea, whether it was poisonous and if it could be harmful. Therefore, the chief ordered the condemned prisoner to drink tea as an experiment. The chief told the prisoner that if he survived drinking the tea, his sins would be forgiven, and all past offenses would be forgotten. The prisoner, knowing he faced death either way, agreed to try the tea. He drank tea every day and found it increasingly delicious. Not only was it fragrant and thirst-quenching, but he also did not die from poisoning. Instead, he felt refreshed. After the period of punishment, the chief had to release the prisoner. From then on, everyone in the area learned to drink tea. The custom in Yongchang since ancient times has been to offer guests “tea water” first. In Han Chinese ancient music, there are “Tea-Picking Tunes” and “Tea-Picking Songs,” and sacrificial ceremonies include “Tea Writings” and “Tea Verses”; the Yi nationality has “Tea-Picking Tunes” and “Tea Blessings” played on the suona. These elements of tea culture did not form overnight; they took generations to evolve and have been passed down to the present day.
Moreover, things related to tea emerged naturally. In the thousands of villages and hamlets in the Gaoligong Mountain area and Xishanliangzi of Yongchang, whether among the Han, Yi, Miao, Bai, or other ethnic groups, the widespread use of tea also demonstrates the long history of Tea drinking. For example, when new houses are built and pillars are erected, relatives and friends go to congratulate the owners, and this is referred to as “lighting the tea,” with tea being an indispensable gift. There are teahouses and tea shops in markets and streets; people are categorized as tea farmers and tea friends; along ancient roads, there are tea huts and tea stalls providing refreshment and rest for travelers. When the great traveler Xu Xiake walked on the ancient road of Bunan and was thirsty and tired, he saw a tea stall by the roadside providing convenience for passersby. He wrote in his travelogue: “To the south of the ridge, there is a temple across the saddle, titled Puji Temple. A monk offers tea here. This is the so-called Jiangpo Peak.” “Another li to the south, there is the main road coming from the west, with three thatched huts by the roadside, which is the tea hut.” There are tea trees, tea forests, and tea gardens on the mountains; in the homes of various ethnic groups, there are tea leaves and various tea utensils. Various methods of roasting and processing tea have been developed, along with numerous tea-drinking etiquettes, making tea the most widely used and favored beverage among all drinks.
Therefore, from these folk “tea cultures,” we can see the long history and profound culture of tea planting and drinking in Yongchang. Like pearls scattered and buried in the dust, once they are dug out and wiped clean, they will shine brilliantly.
According to investigations by relevant departments and tea experts in Bao Shan City, in the Gaoligong Mountain area within Longyang District, large numbers of artificially cultivated and wild tea trees over 1,000 years old have been discovered.
Distribution of Ancient Tea Trees in Bao Shan
Bao Shan is one of the regions where tea originated. More than 1,000 years ago, the ancestors of Bao Shan recognized and utilized tea, with a long history of tea planting. According to local gazetteers of Bao Shan, Teng