---
title: "Gūliáo chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/guliao-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Gūliáo chá (姑辽茶)

*Gūliáo chá* (姑辽茶) is a tea from Mount Guliao in Dongmen Town (东门镇) of Fusui County (扶绥县), Chongzuo prefecture-level city, in the southwest of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The raw material came from old trees of the arbor form on the spurs of the Shiwandashan (十万大山) range; among them, according to local data, are seven trees older than a thousand years. The name does not indicate a class: formerly the leaf was sun-dried or made into green tea, and since 2011 it has been made above all into red tea. Since 2014 it has been a geographical indication product; the name is also on the second list of the agreement between China and the European Union.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** There is no single class. Formerly green tea was made here; since 2011 the main product has been the deeply oxidized red tea “壮乡红” (*Zhuàngxiāng hóng*, “red tea of the Zhuang land”). The Xinhua news agency in 2012 called “姑辽乌龙茶” and “姑辽红茶” new products. Technical requirements stating the class are not found in the sources consulted.
* **Origin:** China, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (广西, *Guǎngxī*), Chongzuo prefecture-level city (崇左, *Chóngzuǒ*), Fusui County, Dongmen Town.
* **Place:** Three villages of the Liutou (六头村) village committee — Guliao (姑辽屯), Gubiao (姑标屯) and Gubu (姑卜屯). The boundaries of the protected zone are not given in the sources consulted.
* **Geographic coordinates:** Fusui County — about 22.6° N and 107.9° E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **Legend.** According to a legend retold by the Chongzuo media platform, a Zhuang ancestor suffered for a long time from stomach pain and diarrhea. In a dream a celestial maiden (仙姑) pointed him to a tea tree by the spring “天仙泉” deep in the mountains, and a decoction of it cured him.
    * **Qing era.** The website of the Guangxi market regulation administration, citing “official materials”, writes that under the Qing *Gūliáo chá* was a tribute tea (贡茶), and at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries it was exported to Vietnam and from there to France. Primary documents are not found in the sources consulted.
    * **Earlier.** According to a 2020 report, the leaf of the old trees was sun-dried and sold at 60 yuan per jin; Xinhua (2012) writes that until 2009 the quality was uneven.
    * **2010–2011.** According to the intangible heritage portal, a tea specialist invited by the county came to Guliao in March 2010, and in 2011 reworked the former green tea technology into the technology of the deeply oxidized “壮乡红”, taking the Taiwanese oolong Dongfang Meiren as a model. According to the newspaper *Zhongguo Zhishi Chanquan Bao* (2018), in March 2011 the three villages set up the “壮乡红” cooperative, and in June, on the initiative of the town, the Dongmen tea factory was built.
    * **China — ASEAN Expo.** *Guangxi Ribao* (2020) and the intangible heritage portal write that “壮乡红” was designated the red tea of the expo in 2011 and 2012; the Chongzuo media platform speaks of four years in a row starting from 2010.
    * **2014.** The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine took *Gūliáo chá* under protection as a geographical indication product; a reference work dates the decision to October 11. The announcement number is not found in the sources consulted.
    * **2018.** According to the same newspaper (October 2018), in May the Dongmen Town chamber of commerce registered the geographical indication certification mark “姑辽茶”; the mark number is not given.
    * **Agreement with the European Union.** *Gūliáo chá* is on the list of 175 Chinese names of the second batch of the agreement between China and the European Union on geographical indications.
* **Name:** According to the 2018 newspaper, the tea was first called “仙姑茶” and “福寿茶”, and the name “姑辽” is interpreted as “the tea with which the celestial maiden heals illnesses”; the village and the mountain got their name from the tea.
* **Cultural significance:** The tea of the Zhuang villages of Mount Guliao.

**3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:**

* **Plant type:** The arbor ([乔木](https://thetea.app/article/qiaomuguanmu)型) form of the tea plant. According to a 2020 report, for this reason and because of its exacting demands on the site, industrial cultivation is not yet possible.
* **Old trees:** The counts in the sources differ — from more than 5100 (Xinhua, 2012) to more than 5520 (a 2020 report); the Guangxi market regulation administration (2024) gives 5166. Older than 100 years — from 580 to 1500 trees according to different counts. The sources agree on two numbers: older than 500 years — more than a hundred, older than a thousand — seven.
* **Variety:** A 2026 publication names a new variety “姑辽215”. The status and description of the variety are not found in the sources consulted.
* **Breeding:** According to a 2020 report, the cultivation, breeding and processing of *Gūliáo chá* are advised by the Guangxi South Subtropical Agricultural Science Research Institute (广西南亚热带农业科学研究所).
* **Harvest standard and timing:** No data in the sources consulted.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The spurs of the Shiwandashan range; the slopes of Mount Guliao, according to the descriptions, are almost always in fog.
* **Altitude:** More than 600 m; newspapers of 2018 and 2026 give 650 m.
* **Soils:** Xinhua (2012) writes of red soils (红壤). The claims of local texts about an environment “rich in potassium, zinc and selenium” are not supported by analyses in the sources consulted.
* **Scale:** According to a 2026 publication, the county has more than 13,400 *mu* under Guliao tea, the annual output is about 81 t, and the value of the output is almost 55 million yuan. The Guangxi market regulation administration (2024) names three bases — the towns of Dongmen, Zhongdong (中东镇) and Liuqiao (柳桥镇) — and writes that the old trees stand side by side with new gardens.

**5. Production Technology:**

Technical requirements for processing are not found in the sources consulted. The 2018 newspaper and the Chongzuo media platform list the following stages:

1.  **Withering (萎凋, *wěidiāo*).**
2.  **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*).**
3.  **Rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*).**
4.  **Fermentation (发酵, *fājiào*).**
5.  **Drying (烘干, *hōnggān*).**
6.  **Aroma finishing (提香, *tíxiāng*).**

This is a list, not a process chart: it contains both fixation and fermentation, and it does not say which version of the tea it refers to. Xinhua (2012) describes the path to the new oolong and red tea as “sun withering — pan-firing — rolling — fermentation — drying” ([晒青](https://thetea.app/article/shai-qing)-翻炒-揉捋-发酵-烘烤).

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

The detailed descriptions (the Guangxi market regulation administration, 2024; the intangible heritage portal) refer to the red “壮乡红”; there are no data on the green version.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** Dark, almost black, curled strands (色泽乌黑，条索卷曲).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No descriptions in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** Rich, long and clean (香气浓长清远); according to the descriptions of Chongzuo and of the administration — with layers of floral, honey and fruity aromas.
* **Taste:** Rich and fresh (茶味醇厚清爽), smooth, with a long sweet aftertaste.
* **Liquor color:** Clear and light; in “壮乡红” — golden.
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** No descriptions in the sources consulted.

The sources write of twenty infusions without loss of color and taste.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

Physicochemical requirements are not found in the sources consulted. The sources attribute the figure of 28.2% tea polyphenols to different things: the Guangxi market regulation administration (2024) and the Chongzuo media platform (2023) — to *Gūliáo chá* in general, a 2026 publication — to the new variety “姑辽215”. The sources name neither the method nor the sample.

**8. Health Properties:**

There are no verified data on the effects of this particular tea. The legend of the cure is a tradition, not evidence.

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice; the parameters depend on which version is in hand.

* **Red (“壮乡红”):** 90–95 °C, 3 g per 150 ml, first infusion about a minute, gaiwan, several infusions of increasing length.
* **Green:** 80–85 °C, 3 g per 150 ml, first infusion 40–60 seconds, glass tumbler or gaiwan, two or three infusions.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. Red tea — in a dry, dark place at room temperature, in tight packaging, away from odors. Green tea — in airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, to be drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

According to publications of 2020 and 2026, the price per jin has risen from 30–60 yuan to 600. According to the 2018 newspaper, the retail price of the top grade in 2017 reached 12,000 yuan per kilogram, and of ordinary red tea — up to 1800 yuan.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the geographical indication mark and the certification mark “姑辽茶”.
    * Check that the producer is from Fusui County.
    * Ask about the class: both red and green tea have been sold under this name.
    * Tea from old trees and tea from new gardens are different products at different prices.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* According to Xinhua (2012) and the 2018 newspaper, each old tree carries a tag with its age and number — the system “a tag on the tree, a person behind the tree” (树挂牌，人包树).
* The red tea brand bears the name not of a mountain but of a people — “壮乡红”, “red tea of the Zhuang land”.
* On the second list of the agreement with the European Union, it is joined from Guangxi by Liubao Cha and Lingyun Baihao (凌云白毫).

**13. Comparison with Other Guangxi Teas:**

* **Liubao Cha ([六堡茶](https://thetea.app/article/liu-bao-cha)):** Dark tea of Cangwu County, the best-known tea of Guangxi.
* **Lingyun Hongcha ([凌云红茶](https://thetea.app/article/lingyun-hongcha)):** Red tea of the mountainous Lingyun County in the northwest of Guangxi.
* **Zhaoping Hongcha ([昭平红茶](https://thetea.app/article/zhaoping-hongcha)):** Gongfu red tea of Zhaoping County in the east of the autonomous region.
* **Dongfang Meiren ([東方美人](https://thetea.app/article/dongfang-meiren)):** A Taiwanese heavily oxidized oolong which, according to the intangible heritage portal, served as the model for the red *Gūliáo chá*.

**In Conclusion:**

*Gūliáo chá* is the tea of a village grove of old trees in the southwest of Guangxi that has grown into an industry: from sun-dried leaf and green tea to the red “壮乡红” and protection since 2014. When buying it, it is worth asking about both the class and the origin of the leaf — from the old trees of Mount Guliao or from new gardens.