---
title: "Gùshǐ yúnwù"
url: https://thetea.app/article/gushi-yunwu
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Gùshǐ yúnwù (固始云雾)

*Gùshǐ yúnwù* (固始云雾) is “the clouds and mists of Gushi”: the name of a tea from Gushi County (固始县), Xinyang prefecture-level city, in the south of Henan Province. The name is protected by geographical indication certification mark No. 5124386, held by the Gushi County Tea Association (固始县茶叶协会); the mark appears in the national list of registered geographical indications as of 31 December 2009. Few documents about the tea itself have been found: the primary sources name neither its class, nor its technology, nor requirements for its appearance.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Not established. The word “云雾” (*yúnwù*, “clouds and mists”) is an image of a mountain place, not an indication of class. According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC, 2021), the county makes Xinyang Maojian, local named teas, pan-fired green tea (炒青绿茶), Xinyang red tea and matcha; none of the documents found says which of them the product of the mark belongs to. A popular 2025 publication describes a green tea technology, but it is an unreliable source (section 5), and I do not assign a class on its basis.
* **Category:** A county geographical indication certification mark; the product under the registration is “tea” (茶).
* **Origin:** China, Henan Province (河南, *Hénán*), Xinyang prefecture-level city (信阳, *Xìnyáng*), Gushi County (固始, *Gùshǐ*).
* **Mark zone:** Not verified. The county is given on the basis of the mark holder; I have not seen the legal boundary of the zone. According to the NDRC, the county's tea bases lie in the southern mountain townships and towns: Chenlin (陈淋), Zushi (祖师), Wumiao (武庙), Duanji (段集), Fangji (方集), and also Liji (黎集), Zhaogang (赵岗), Guolutan (郭陆滩), Zhanglaobu (张老埠) and Sanhejian (三河尖).
* **Geographic coordinates:** Gushi County — about 32.2° N and 115.6° E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **Tea of the county.** According to a 2021 NDRC publication, tea growing in Gushi, according to research (据考证), is more than 2,300 years old. The county's present range grew out of the traditional “small-pan tea” (小锅茶) and pan-fired green tea.
    * **1914.** The same publication writes that in the third year of the Republic (1914) “固始云雾茶” took part in the Panama product competition and became famous. It says nothing about an award. Popular websites go further and write of an award; I have found no confirmation of this.
    * **Mark registration.** Mark No. 5124386 (product — tea, holder — the Gushi County Tea Association) was entered in the list of registered geographical indications of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce as of 31 December 2009 and in the 2012 list of the Trademark Office. These lists give no registration date. A popular 2025 publication names 2006; this is not confirmed by a primary source.
    * **Status.** According to the 2026 register, the name is registered as of the date of the source; whether the protection is in force now is not confirmed.
    * **2024.** *Nongmin Ribao* (农民日报) reported on Wangling village (汪岭村) in Chenlinzi Town (陈淋子镇): 13 large tea cooperatives operate there, and under their lead the local tea lines “固始云雾” and “[高山茶](https://thetea.app/article/gao-shan-cha)” — “high-mountain tea” — are springing up like mushrooms after rain.
* **Name:** 固始 — the name of the county; 云雾 — “clouds and mists”. Many mountain teas of China are called this, and the word by itself does not define a class.
* **Cultural significance:** The NDRC names three tea brands of the county with the status of “China Well-Known Trademark” (中国驰名商标): “九华山”, “[仰天雪绿](https://thetea.app/article/yangtian-xue-lu)” and “十八盘”. *Gùshǐ yúnwù* is not among them. In 2024 *Nongmin Ribao* wrote that the Gushi tea brands “九华山[毛尖](https://thetea.app/article/mao-jian)”, “仰天雪绿” and “青峰云雾” have become emblematic of Xinyang tea; “青峰云雾” is also a *yúnwù* of the county, but how it relates to the “固始云雾” mark is not stated in the sources consulted.

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

* **Variety / Cultivar:** No varieties are named for the mark itself. According to the NDRC (2021), the county's gardens grow the local Xinyang population (信阳[群体种](https://thetea.app/article/qunti-zhong), *Xìnyáng qúntǐzhǒng*), 福鼎大白 (*Fúdǐng dàbái*), [乌牛早](https://thetea.app/article/wuniu-zao) (*Wūniúzǎo*), 舒茶早 (*Shūcházǎo*) and 龙井43 (*Lóngjǐng 43*). Seed-propagated bushes (有性系) occupy 119,500 mu — 73.7% of the county's gardens, clonal bushes (无性系) 42,500 mu, 26.3%. These are data for the county, not for the tea of the mark.
* **Harvest and harvest standard:** No data were found in the sources consulted.
* **Raw material requirements:** No data were found in the sources consulted.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The south of Gushi County — the mountain townships listed in section 1. A popular publication places the gardens deep in the Dabie Mountains (大别山); I have not seen an official description of the zone.
* **Climate:** *Nongmin Ribao* writes of Wangling village as a place with a high-mountain climate, a large daily temperature range and abundant sunshine. The newspaper gives no figures.
* **Altitude:** There are no official data. A popular publication speaks of gardens above 800 m; this is not confirmed by a primary source.
* **Soils:** No data were found in the sources consulted.
* **County garden area:** According to the NDRC, 162,000 mu in 2020. According to *Nongmin Ribao*, in 2023 — 165,500 mu, of which 135,000 mu are gardens under harvest, 6,600 t of tea and a production value of 1 billion yuan. These are figures for the whole county from the press and the agency, not the output of “固始云雾” tea.

**5. Production Technology:**

I have not found a document with the technology of *Gùshǐ yúnwù*. A popular 2025 publication without an author writes of picking one bud with one barely opened leaf and of manual work: fixation, rolling, straightening, drying. I do not trust that publication: it names no author, and in its account of “固始云雾” it cites, without separating the two, the output of the whole county (6,000 t for 2020 — in the NDRC's data this is a figure for the county as a whole).

If the product of the mark is a green tea, as popular descriptions say, the general scheme for the class is as follows:

1.  **Spreading the fresh leaf (摊放, *tānfàng*):** The leaf gives off part of its moisture.
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 *Gùshǐ yúnwù*.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

There is no document with requirements for the appearance.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** No data were found in the sources consulted.
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No data were found in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** No data were found in the sources consulted.
* **Taste:** No data were found in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor color:** No data were found in the sources consulted.
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** No data were found in the sources consulted.

The unreliable popular 2025 publication describes the leaf as finely and tightly curled, the liquor as tender green and bright, the brewed leaf as even and lively (外形紧细卷曲、汤色嫩绿明亮、叶底匀整鲜活). I give this as someone else's description, not as a verified appearance.

**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. The class is not established; the guidelines below are for green tea, which popular descriptions speak of.

* **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 for green tea. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors; best drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

There are no price data in reliable sources. I do not repeat the price tiers from the popular publication.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the “固始云雾” geographical indication certification mark and check that the producer is from Gushi County.
    * Remember that the protection is not confirmed to be in force now: the mark on the packaging should be checked against the register.
    * Do not confuse it with “青峰云雾” — this is a separate brand of the county, and its connection with the mark has not been established.
    * The word “云雾” on the packaging is not enough: teas in many provinces are called this.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* According to the NDRC, a tea named “固始云雾” went to the Panama competition as early as 1914 — almost a century before the name entered the list of geographical indications.
* The status of “China Well-Known Trademark” in the county went to other tea brands — “九华山”, “仰天雪绿” and “十八盘” — and not to *Gùshǐ yúnwù*.
* Two *yúnwù* live in one county: the “固始云雾” mark and the “青峰云雾” brand.

**13. Comparison with Other Teas:**

* **Xinyang Maojian ([信阳毛尖](https://thetea.app/article/xinyang-mao-jian)):** The main green tea of Xinyang prefecture; according to the NDRC, it is also made in Gushi.
* **Yangtian Xuelü (仰天雪绿):** A green tea from the same county and one of its three “well-known” brands.
* **Xinyang Hong ([信阳红](https://thetea.app/article/xinyang-hong)):** A red tea of the prefecture; according to the NDRC, Xinyang red tea is also part of the Gushi range.
* **Lushan Yunwu ([庐山云雾](https://thetea.app/article/lushan-yun-wu)):** A green tea from Mount Lushan in Jiangxi — one of the best-known *yúnwù* teas of China; it shares only the word with Gushi.

**In Conclusion:**

*Gùshǐ yúnwù* is a name better known than the tea itself: the mark is registered to the county's tea association and appears in the national lists of 2009 and 2012, the NDRC recalls the Panama competition of 1914, and the press of 2024 recalls the mountain village of Wangling, where this line is growing together with the cooperatives. The documents name neither the class, nor the technology, nor the appearance, so in the encyclopedia this is an overview article about the mark, not a description of taste. For a verified Xinyang taste, turn to Xinyang Maojian and Yangtian Xuelü of the same county.