Dūjiāngyàn cháyè (都江堰茶叶), “the tea leaf of Dujiangyan”, is a green tea of the county-level city of Dujiangyan (都江堰市) administered by Chengdu, Sichuan Province — on the northwestern edge of the Chengdu Plain, where the Minjiang River leaves the mountains. Since 2016 the name has been protected as an agricultural product geographical indication (AGI), and since 2025 as a geographical indication product recognized by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). The zone includes Mount Qingcheng, whose teas, according to the reference accompanying the description of the indication, were already listed as tribute under the Song.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá). “茶叶” (cháyè) simply means “tea leaf”, and the class is established from the technology in the protection texts of 2016 and 2025: fixation (杀青), rolling and a second pan-firing, without oxidation.
- Category: Green tea of western Sichuan; geographical indication product (2025), and since 2016 also an agricultural product geographical indication.
- Origin: China, Sichuan Province (四川, Sìchuān), the city of Chengdu (成都, Chéngdū), the county-level city of Dujiangyan (都江堰, Dūjiāngyàn).
- Protection zone: 12 townships and towns: Xiang’e (向峨乡), Daguan (大观镇), Qingchengshan (青城山镇), Zhongxing (中兴镇), Yutang (玉堂镇), Puyang (蒲阳镇), Guankou (灌口镇), Zipingpu (紫坪铺镇), Hongkou (虹口乡), Longchi (龙池镇), Tianma (天马镇) and Xujia (胥家镇). The applicant in 2025 was the People’s Government of Dujiangyan. According to the 2016 description, the zone borders Wenchuan, Pengzhou and Chongzhou, and its area is 71,700 ha.
- Geographic coordinates: 103°25′42″–103°47′00″ E, 31°02′09″–31°44′54″ N; in the text of the 2025 requirements the latitudes are written in reverse order.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History (according to the reference accompanying the 2016 description of the indication, as reprinted):
- Tang. Among the tribute teas of Shu, the court particularly prized “Wuzui” (乌嘴) and “Liuchuhua” (六出花); the reference attributes both to Dujiangyan.
- Tea gardens. The compendium Taiping Guangji (太平广记, 978) mentions, in Jiulong County (九陇县, now Pengzhou; at the time the lands east of the Minjiang were subordinate to it), the tea garden of Zhang Shougui (张守圭), where more than a hundred pickers were hired every year.
- Song tribute. The reference finds direct evidence of Qingcheng tea in tribute in Taiping Huanyu Ji (太平寰宇记, 976–983): under the heading “former tribute” of the Yongkang Jun prefecture (永康军) are named 紫背龙芽, 白背龙芽, 大鹤仙 and 小鹤仙.
- 1674. According to a document cited in the reference, in the 13th year of Kangxi 800 jin of Qingcheng bud tea were procured every year, of which 60 jin were select and 680 jin “palace” tea.
- 1912. At the beginning of the Republic, according to the reference, fenced gardens for tribute tea still remained on Mount Qingcheng.
- 1981. Qingcheng Xueya, one of the teas of Dujiangyan, was sold in Hong Kong, Macau and Japan.
- 2013. The brand “Qingcheng Dao Cha” (青城道茶) won first prize at the 10th national famous tea competition “Zhongcha Cup”.
- 2016. On 31 March the Ministry of Agriculture approved the registration of the agricultural product geographical indication; the holder is the Dujiangyan Agricultural Technology Extension Center, and the number of the technical regulation is AGI2016-01-1869.
- 2025. By CNIPA Announcement No. 625 (signed 1 April, published 14 April) the tea was recognized as a geographical indication product. In May, according to the local newspaper, the city held a tasting of the protected tea, at which seven companies showed “tea-making techniques — intangible heritage” (非遗制茶技艺); which ones is not stated.
- Name: 都江堰 — Dujiangyan, a city and an irrigation system on the Minjiang; 茶叶 — “tea leaf”.
- Cultural significance: According to the 2016 reference, the local tea has two provincial trademarks and ten leading brands, among them “Qingcheng” (青城), “Qingchengshan” (青城山), “Qingcheng Dao Cha” (青城道茶) and “Qingcheng Piaoxue” (青城飘雪).
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Varieties / Cultivars: Under the 2025 requirements — 黔眉502 (Qiánméi 502), 特早213 (Tèzǎo 213), 名选131 (Míngxuǎn 131), 福鼎大白茶 (Fúdǐng dàbáichá), 福选9号 (Fúxuǎn 9) and other improved varieties. The 2016 description required only local high-yielding and resistant varieties of the “extra-early series”.
- Harvest standard: A single bud, a bud with the first unfolding leaf, a bud with two leaves.
- Picking method: Pinching (掐采), lifting (提手采) and two-handed picking (双手采).
- Harvest: Harvest dates are not found in the sources consulted.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The junction of two natural regions — the Longmenshan Mountains (龙门山) and the apex of the Minjiang alluvial fan on the Chengdu Plain; the terrain descends from northwest to southeast.
- Growing altitude: According to the 2016 description, the main soils of the zone are mountain yellow earths at an altitude of 700–1200 m. The 2025 requirements allow level plots and gentle slopes of 3–15°.
- Soils: Mountain yellow earths (山地黄壤) — deep, fertile, rich in organic matter, pH 4.5–6.5.
- Climate (according to the 2016 description): mid-subtropical monsoon. Mean annual temperature 15.2 °C, of the coldest month 4.6 °C, of the warmest 24.4 °C; precipitation 1243.8 mm, sunshine 1016.9 hours a year, a frost-free period of 280 days, long-term mean relative humidity from 75 to 80%.
- Water sources: Rivers of the Minjiang system and canals of the Dujiangyan irrigation system.
- Scale: According to the 2016 description — 1700 t of tea a year.
5. Production Technology
The 2025 protection requirements set the chain “spreading — fixation — cooling — rolling — second pan-firing — cooling — second rolling — drying — storage”:
- Spreading (摊放, tānfàng): The 2025 requirements give no parameters; the 2016 description gave 6–12 hours, to a moisture content of about 70%.
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): Three stages, 4–6 minutes in all. The first — a pan at 260–220 °C, until the leaf goes limp; the second — 20–30 °C lower, until the leaf has mostly curled into a strand and no longer sticks to the hand; the third — about 200 °C.
- Cooling (摊凉, tānliáng): Immediately after the pan, 30–60 minutes.
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn): “Tender leaf — lightly, coarse leaf — heavily”, “light — heavy — light”. Tender leaf — 20–25 minutes, coarse leaf — no longer than 50 minutes.
- Second pan-firing (杀二青, shā èr qīng): First 180–150 °C, until the leaf becomes soft; then 10–15 °C lower, with the “press and grind” techniques (压、磨), 3–5 minutes, to a flat, straight shape.
- Second rolling (二揉, èr róu): In the 2016 description — as needed.
- Drying (烘干, hōnggān): The 2025 requirements give no parameters; the 2016 description gave 90–100 °C, until the leaf is emerald green.
- Storage (贮藏, zhùcáng): In tightly sealed bags, at a temperature no higher than 8 °C.
The texts contradict themselves: both in the 2016 description and in the 2025 requirements the technology brings the leaf to a “flat, straight” shape, while the description of the appearance speaks of a “naturally slightly curled” strand; the sources do not explain how to reconcile this.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
According to the 2025 protection requirements:
- Dry leaf appearance: Natural, slightly curled strands (条索自然微卷), yellow-green with down (黄绿带毫).
- Dry leaf aroma: No separate description is found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Clean, with a chestnut note, lasting (清香带栗香，持久).
- Taste: Fresh, brisk, mellow and smooth (鲜爽醇和).
- Liquor color: Yellow-green, bright.
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Even, yellow-green, bright.
7. Chemical Composition
| Indicator | Norm |
|---|---|
| Tea polyphenols | not less than 20% |
| Water-soluble extractives | not less than 40% |
| Protein | not less than 30 g/100 g |
| Total amino acids | not less than 3% |
| Vitamin C | not less than 200 mg/100 g |
In the reprint of the 2016 description the same protein norm is written in one place as 30 mg/100 g and in another as 30 g/100 g; the figure given here is the one in the 2025 requirements.
8. Brewing
Class practice for green tea. Water at 80–85 °C, 3 g per 150 ml, a glass tumbler or a white gaiwan. Pour the water down the side; first infusion — after 40–60 seconds; drink, leaving part of the liquor, and top up — two or three further infusions.
9. Storage
Class practice: in airtight packaging, away from light, moisture and odors, preferably in a refrigerator; drink within a year. The protection requirements are more specific here than usual — no higher than 8 °C.
10. Price and Counterfeits
Price data are not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the special geographical indication mark: the right to use it is granted to a producer from the zone by CNIPA on the recommendation of the city and the province.
- Check that the tea comes from one of the 12 townships and towns of the zone.
- Remember that the name is generic: the words “tea from Dujiangyan” without the mark do not yet mean the protected product.
- The leaf is yellow-green with down; the aroma is clean, with a chestnut note.
11. Interesting Facts
- Among the Song tribute teas of Qingcheng, the reference names the “Greater” and “Lesser crane immortal” — 大鹤仙 and 小鹤仙.
- Fixation under the protection requirements runs in three stages, starting with a pan at 260–220 °C.
- In 1674, according to the reference, of 800 jin of Qingcheng tea, 680 were listed as “palace” tea.
12. Comparison with Other Sichuan Teas
- Qingcheng Xueya (青城雪芽): A named green tea of Mount Qingcheng, which is part of the zone; according to the 2016 reference, one of the teas of Dujiangyan.
- Emei Zhuyeqing (峨眉竹叶青): A flat green tea of Mount Emei; for Dūjiāngyàn cháyè the flat shape is set by the technology, but not by the description of the appearance.
- Tianfu Longya (天府龙芽): A provincial brand of Sichuan tea; Dūjiāngyàn cháyè is a name one level lower, that of a city.
In Conclusion:
Dūjiāngyàn cháyè is the generic name for the tea of one city where the Minjiang leaves the mountains, to which the protection has tied a quite specific green tea: yellow-green leaf with down, a clean aroma with a chestnut note, a hot three-stage fixation and storage at no higher than 8 °C. Its history is lent to it by Mount Qingcheng with its Song tribute, and two documents — of 2016 and 2025 — give a detailed technology, though they describe the shape of the leaf differently.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page