Image Source: Chongqing Local Chronicles Office
Nanchuan District is located in southern Chongqing, serving as a link between the main urban area of Chongqing and the towns in southeastern Yunnan and northern Guizhou. Within its borders lies Mount Jinfeng, covering an area of 13,000 square kilometers, recognized as a World Natural Heritage Site. It is known as “the Southern Buddhist Paradise,” “the First Mountain in Bashu,” “the Earth's Biological Gene Bank,” and “the Chinese Herbal Repository.” The giant Tea trees are scattered throughout the majestic and picturesque landscapes of Mount Jinfeng.
Capitalizing on its superior geographical conditions and ecological environment, Nanchuan District has accelerated the development of modern mountainous characteristic and efficient agriculture in recent years. It has promoted agricultural products such as Chinese medicinal herbs, ancient tea trees, bamboo shoots, Nanchuan rice, and blueberries, collectively known as the “3+2” specialty agricultural products, with a total output value reaching 4 billion yuan. The district has been rated as a national model tea standardization demonstration zone and selected as one of the first districts to create a national agricultural modernization demonstration zone.
No. 1 Giant Tea Tree
The summer field investigation team from the Tea Dao Philosophy Research Institute of Renmin University of China arrived in Mount Jinfeng, Nanchuan District on August 24, 2023, to inspect the giant tea trees. They visited villages where many giant tea trees were found, large-scale modern artificially planted tea tree gardens, and focused on two specific trees known as No. 1 and No. 2.
The No. 2 giant tea tree in Nanchuan is located in She 7, Longxing Village, Delong Town, Nanchuan District, at an altitude of 1,240 meters. Its trunk diameter is 75 centimeters, standing 14 meters tall, with a maximum crown spread of 7.8 meters. According to experts who conducted on-site verification, this is a wild arbor-type ancient tea tree. As for its age, local staff informed us that there is no exact figure, but it is estimated to be over a thousand years old.
No. 2 Giant Tea Tree in Nanchuan
The No. 1 giant tea tree is far from the No. 2 tree, located in a different village. It grows within Chaoshu Village, Delong Town, at an altitude of 1,350 meters, reaching 12 meters in height, with a trunk diameter of 52 centimeters and a crown spread of about 13 meters. Its precise coordinates are 107.24°E longitude and 28.89°N latitude. Estimates of its age range from 1,400 years to 2,700 years. The middle of this giant tea tree has split and hollowed out significantly, yet its roots remain tightly connected, and the entire tree remains vibrant and alive.
In 1990, the giant tea trees of Mount Jinfeng were jointly named “Nanchuan Tea” (Camellia nanchuanica H.T. Chang et Xiong) by Professor Zhang Hongda from Sun Yat-sen University and Professor Xiong Jihua from Southwest University, categorizing them into the five-chamber tea group. They believed that the five-chamber tea is the oldest cultivated variety, leading locals to refer to the No. 1 giant tea tree as the “Ancestor of Tea Trees.”
Li Wei, Director of the Nanchuan District Agricultural Characteristic Industry Development Center, Deputy Director Zhang Cheng, and staff member Tan Jinyi accompanied the inspection team and introduced us to the local tea tree cultivation, industry development, and folk tea customs along the way.
The local authorities have taken protective measures for the “Ancestor of Tea Trees.” Initially, they used metal frames to enclose the tree, but later discovered that this hindered the tree's absorption of sunlight and water. They then switched to wooden supports and barriers. Currently, a scenic geographic isolation method is employed, which involves diverting natural mountain spring water to form a pond, complemented by wooden and stone structures to create a protective enclosure that blends harmoniously with the surrounding environment.
Longchanxiang Giant Tea Tree Shareholding Cooperative Giant Tea Tree Base (Source: Tea Dao Philosophy Research)
In recent years, Chaoshu Village, rich in giant tea tree resources, established a cooperative after receiving corporate investment, focusing on the development and commercialization of giant tea trees. For this purpose, the Nanchuan Giant Tea Tree History and Culture Museum (Jiamuyuan) was established in She 1, Delong Town, Chaoshu Village, converted from the former Chaoshu Village Elementary School. The museum exhibits are divided into three sections: “The Origin of Artificial Tea Cultivation in the World,” “The Past of Nanchuan Giant Tea Trees,” and “Prospects for the Revival of Ancient Teas.”
The team members engaged in candid exchanges with local staff regarding the basis for the claim that the “Ancestor of Tea Trees” exists and the origins of such claims.
The region is remote and mountainous, with many areas being deep forests rarely visited by humans. Perhaps even older giant tea trees will be discovered in the future. Claiming that it is the “ancestor” based solely on scholars classifying it as the oldest cultivated variety is insufficient to convince anyone. Everyone seeing them for the first time would doubt whether other regions in China originated from this place or if this is indeed the earliest area for artificial tea cultivation in China.
In fact, this is not unique to Nanchuan District. During our investigations across the country, we have found many places claiming to be the “source” or “ancestor,” arbitrarily pushing back the history of their local tea tree utilization, lacking a rigorous scientific attitude and pragmatic seriousness.
Source: Wang Yaqing
Are giant tea trees unique to Nanchuan District?
The answer is no.
They may also exist in neighboring districts of Nanchuan. In July 2018, the summer Tea culture investigation team from the Tea Dao Philosophy Research Institute of Renmin University visited Wuchuan County and Fenggang County in Zunyi City. In Wuchuan County, we heard about high tea trees, and local government officials led us to visit them. These high tea trees mainly grew around houses and fields, mostly scattered individually, with only a few growing together.
Although they were also arbor types, they were clearly artificially cultivated. Some had trunk diameters of 30-40 centimeters and heights of 20-30 meters, requiring climbing to harvest tea leaves. Nanchuan District borders Dazhen County in Zunyi, which adjoins Wuchuan County. In fact, scholars discovered high tea trees as early as 1940, providing evidence of a history of tea cultivation and processing in the area.
When Zhejiang University relocated to Zunyi and the Central Experimental Tea Field moved to Meitan, agricultural experts visited multiple nearby counties to investigate whether the local conditions were suitable for tea cultivation and to study plant distribution. They discovered high tea trees in the mountains. There might be a genetic relationship between the high tea trees in Guizhou and the giant tea trees in Chongqing.
