---
title: "Guóshèng chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/guosheng-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Guóshèng chá (国胜茶)

*Guóshèng chá* (国胜茶) is a mountain green tea from Guosheng Township (国胜乡) of Yanbian County (盐边县), Panzhihua prefecture-level city, in the south of Sichuan Province, at the junction with Yunnan. The gardens lie at the foot of Mount Bailinshan at an altitude of 1,600–2,500 m. According to the county's description, long hours of sunshine, a large difference between day and night temperatures and high forest cover give this tea the natural orchid aroma for which it is known in the Panzhihua and Xichang area. Since 2008 *Guóshèng chá* has been a geographical indication product; the county calls it its first such product.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*). Descriptions call it a high-mountain organic green tea; I have not seen a protection document stating the class.
* **Category:** Mountain green tea of southern Sichuan; geographical indication product (2008).
* **Origin:** China, Sichuan Province (四川, *Sìchuān*), Panzhihua prefecture-level city (攀枝花, *Pānzhīhuā*), Yanbian County, Guosheng Township.
* **Protection zone:** Five units of Yanbian County: Yongxing Town (永兴镇) and the townships of Guosheng (国胜乡), Hongbao (红宝乡), Qinghe (箐河乡) and Wenquan (温泉乡). The list is taken from a reprint of the announcement; I have not checked it against the primary source.
* **Geographic coordinates:** About 26–27° N and 101–102° E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **2001.** According to a reference description, *Guóshèng chá* received a provincial award for quality green tea at the 6th “Emei” competition.
    * **2002.** A gold medal at the “Mengdingshan” international competition of famous teas and a class A “green product” certificate.
    * **2005.** An organic tea certificate.
    * **2008.** By announcement No. 136, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) placed *Guóshèng chá* under protection as a geographical indication product; a reference book dates the decision to 10 December 2008. The press gives 2010 as the year of recognition; I have not resolved the discrepancy. Yanbian County calls *Guóshèng chá* its first geographical indication product; reference descriptions call it the first in the whole of Panzhihua prefecture-level city.
    * **2023.** The “Yanbian tea-making technique” (盐边茶制作技艺) was entered in Sichuan's sixth provincial list of intangible heritage — as a branch of the Sichuan green tea technique.
    * **2024.** The county reported that at the 13th Sichuan International Tea Expo the title of “golden tea” went to a local product named “国胜白茶”; the report does not say which class it belongs to.
* **Name:** “Guosheng” (国胜) is the name of the township where the main gardens lie.
* **Cultural significance:** According to a county report, Guosheng Township has made tea its leading industry and is building on it the public brand “国胜茶” and a modern tea agricultural park.

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

* **Varieties / Cultivars:** Modern gardens are described as growing 福鼎大白茶 (*Fúdǐng dàbáichá*), 名山白毫131 (*Míngshān báiháo 131*), 名山213 (*Míngshān 213*) and Yunnan large-leaf tea. Earlier descriptions speak of traditional small-leaf local varieties.
* **Raw material:** Tender tips and buds (嫩尖、嫩芽) — according to a reference description.
* **Harvest standard:** An exact standard was not found in the sources consulted.
* **Harvest time:** Exact dates were not found in the sources consulted.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The south of Sichuan, at the junction with Yunnan — between Panzhihua and Lijiang. The main gardens lie deep in the Bailinshan mountain massif (柏林山; the spelling 百灵山 also occurs).
* **Growing altitude:** **1,600–2,500 m** — according to the county's description. A reference description speaks of gardens of old bushes on Mount Bailinshan at “about 3,000 m”; I consider this figure unconfirmed.
* **Climate:** According to descriptions — diffused sunlight all year round, mists, abundant rain, warm and humid weather. The daily temperature range is large.
* **Soils:** Fertile, according to descriptions; the exact type was not found in the sources consulted.

**5. Production Technology:**

A reference description speaks of modern machinery. A detailed technology and parameters were not found in the sources consulted. For a mountain green tea of this appearance, the usual sequence is as follows:

1.  **Withering (摊放, *tānfàng*):** Short, so that part of the moisture is lost.
2.  **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** Heat stops oxidation.
3.  **Rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*).**
4.  **Drying (干燥, *gānzào*).**

This is a general scheme for the class, not a description of the technology of *Guóshèng chá*.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

* **Dry leaf appearance:** The leaf is gracefully shaped, thin and tender, emerald green (叶形秀美，细嫩翠绿).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** There is no separate description; a reference description calls the aroma pleasant (香气怡人) without specifying whether of the dry leaf or of the liquor.
* **Liquor aroma:** Natural orchid (纯天然兰花香) — the main feature of this tea.
* **Taste:** Fresh, brisk, sweet and mellow (滋味鲜爽甘醇), with a sweet return (回甜).
* **Liquor color:** Emerald green, clear and bright (汤色碧绿明亮).
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Descriptions were not found in the sources consulted.

Local descriptions reduce its appearance to six words: 形美、叶嫩、汤清、味醇、回甜、香长 — beautiful shape, tender leaf, clear liquor, mellow taste, sweet return, long-lasting aroma.

Another reference describes the tea differently: thick buds and leaves, large dark twisted leaves, a light green bright liquor, a rich and brisk taste. I have not seen a document with requirements for the appearance, and I cannot say which description is closer to the protected product.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

Physico-chemical data were not found in the sources consulted.

**8. Health Properties:**

There are no verified data on the effects of this particular tea.

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice for green tea.

* **Water temperature:** 80–85 °C.
* **Tea amount:** 3 g per 150 ml.
* **Teaware:** A glass tumbler or a white gaiwan.
* **Process:**
    1. Warm the teaware.
    2. Put in the tea and pour the water down the side.
    3. The first infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
    4. Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
    5. Top up with water.
    6. Two or three further infusions.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors. The orchid aroma fades first, so the tea is best drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Price data were not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the geographical indication mark.
    * Check that the producer is from Yanbian County.
    * The leaf is thin and emerald, the liquor emerald and clear, the aroma orchid.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* Yanbian County calls *Guóshèng chá* its first geographical indication product.
* Since 2023 the technique of making Yanbian tea has been on the provincial list of intangible heritage.
* The gardens lie at the junction of two provinces, next to Yunnan, and Yunnan large-leaf tea grows in them.
* The tea received its first provincial award as early as 2001 — seven years before protection.

**13. Comparison with Other Sichuan Green Teas:**

* **Zhuyeqing ([竹叶青](https://thetea.app/article/zhu-ye-qing)):** A flat tea from Mount Emei; *Guóshèng chá* has a thin, tender leaf, and the emphasis is on the orchid aroma.
* **Mengding Ganlu ([蒙顶甘露](https://thetea.app/article/mengding-gan-lu)):** A curled tea from Mount Mengdingshan, one of the oldest tea areas of Sichuan.
* **Qifo Gongcha ([七佛贡茶](https://thetea.app/article/qifo-gongcha)):** A flat mountain tea from the northeast of the province, at the opposite end of Sichuan.

**In Conclusion:**

*Guóshèng chá* is a mountain green tea of southern Sichuan with gardens at an altitude of 1,600–2,500 m, an orchid aroma, an emerald liquor and a sweet return. There are few documents about it, but they are consistent: awards since 2001, protection since 2008 and provincial heritage status for the technique since 2023.