Xigui natural village is affiliated with Bangdong Village, Bangdong Township, Lincang District, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, China, and is located in a mountainous area. It is 12 kilometers away from the Bangdong Village Committee and 16 kilometers away from the Bangdong Township government. The territory covers an area of 3.82 square kilometers, with an altitude of 750 meters, an average annual temperature of 22°C, and annual precipitation of 1,100 millimeters. The total arable land area of the entire village is 295 mu, with 1.24 mu per capita, mainly planting Crops such as rice and corn; it has 4,855 mu of forest land, including 945 mu of economic fruit tree land, which amounts to 3.98 mu of economic fruit trees per capita. The main economic fruit trees planted are rubber, among others. There is 80 mu of water surface area, of which 1 mu is used for aquaculture; there are 385 mu of barren mountains and wastelands, and other areas cover 345 mu.
01 Manglu Mountain
Xigui Tea is produced in Xigui Village on Manglu Mountain within Bangdong Township, Lincang District, Lincang City, Yunnan Province. “Xigui” means “the village good at making ropes” in Dai language. Manglu Mountain is part of the Lincang Great Snow Mountain that extends eastward toward the Lancang River, backed by Xigui Mountain and extending eastward to the Lancang River, with the base of the mountain being the Guixi Ferry (formerly known as Gali Ancient Ferry). Manglu Mountain boasts beautiful scenery and very charming natural landscapes. The soil is typical red soil found along the Lancang River, and the forest vegetation is subtropical monsoon forest. Common plants seen in the forest include red toon, camphor, large-leaved figs, beef rib vines, olives, wild mangoes, and more.
02 Xigui Ancient Tea Garden
The ancient tea gardens of Xigui are mostly distributed in the mid-mountain areas, mixed in with the forest. The ancient tea trees are approximately 200 years old, with larger tea trees having a circumference at the base of 60 to 110 centimeters. The King Tree of Xigui Tea is located in the Xigui ancient tea garden in Bangdong Township, Lincang District, with the species being Bangdong Black Large-Leaf Tea. This tree is over 1,000 years old, with a branching height of 44 cm, a trunk diameter at the base of 29 cm, a canopy span of 6.8 m x 5.85 m, and a tree height of 6.35 meters. It is located at an altitude of 895.8 meters, with coordinates at 100.406169°E and 23.925164°N. According to records in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period in the “Myanmar County Annals,” “There are about six to seven thousand households growing tea throughout the county, with the most notable being Manglu and Xigui in Bangdong Township. The color and taste of Manglu tea surpass those of other tea-producing areas.” Here, Manglu is now referred to as Manglu, while Xigui is now called Xigui.
The tea on Manglu Mountain has another distinctive feature—it grows naturally. Some trees reach heights of three to four meters, while others grow to five or six meters. A few tea trees have only stumps of dead trunks left, but new branches as thick as hoe handles have grown out from the bottom. The circumference of the larger tea trees is around 80 to 90 centimeters. The tea garden is traditionally picked and allowed to grow naturally. The branches twist upward, and after hundreds of years of unintentional human cultivation, they have formed rugged and peculiar shapes, like reclining dragons or birds spreading their wings. They are easy to climb and pick, and also have ornamental value. This is a typical example of an ancient tea garden cultivated artificially. Xigui tea belongs to the Bangdong Black Large-Leaf Tea variety. Due to local customs, tea is only harvested during the spring and autumn seasons each year, so the tea trees are well-preserved, and the quality of the tea is much better than that of other villages.
03 Quality Characteristics of Xigui Ancient Tree Tea
The appearance characteristics of Xigui ancient tree Puer tea are not showing downy hairs, no hair on the back, black and tightly twisted leaves, small willow-like leaves, thin green leaves, and hard-to-spot stems. The aroma is rich and high, a blend of Orchid fragrance and floral scent, with a strong mountain wilderness character. The liquor is golden and bright, glossy and lustrous, crystal clear. The taste is initially marked by noticeable bitterness and astringency, with good astringency that dissipates quickly, around 4 seconds. The mouthfeel is characterized by rapid and enduring sweetness and salivation, with a silky smooth throat sensation. The tea soup has a rich texture and a harmonious fullness, is very durable when steeped, and the final infusions are sweet. Drinking it gives one a feeling of refreshment and ease, making it irresistibly captivating. The leaves are thin, and when infused, the Xigui leaves are very thin but quite elastic and resilient, with many tea stalks and a dark color, but this does not detract from its unique charm in the slightest.