---
title: "Nánjìng tǔlóu chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/nanjing-tulou-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Nánjìng tǔlóu chá (南靖土楼茶)

*Nánjìng tǔlóu chá* (南靖土楼茶) is an oolong from Nanjing County (南靖县) of Zhangzhou prefecture-level city in the south of Fujian Province, named after the tulou — the round and square rammed-earth fortress houses that stand here among the tea gardens. The name appeared in 2018 as the public brand of the county's tea, whose main product became oolong from the dangui (丹桂) variety. In 2022 the name was registered as a geographical indication certification mark for the goods “oolong”. It is the youngest of the county's three tea marks and the only one not named after a variety: the other two — “[南靖丹桂](https://thetea.app/article/nanjing-dangui)” and “南靖[铁观音](https://thetea.app/article/tie-guanyin)” — are registered for the goods “tea” in general, and this one only for oolong.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Oolong (乌龙茶, *wūlóngchá*) — according to the document: in the provincial list of marks the goods are registered as “乌龙茶”.
* **Class caveat:** The public brand is broader than the mark: according to a 2020 publication, dangui is released under the brand both as oolong of the rich (浓[香型](https://thetea.app/article/xiangxing)) and fresh (清香型) styles and as red tea. The mark, however, according to the list, protects only oolong.
* **Category:** Southern Fujian oolong with a geographical indication mark (2022); public brand of the county since 2018.
* **Origin:** China, Fujian Province (福建, *Fújiàn*), Zhangzhou prefecture-level city (漳州, *Zhāngzhōu*), Nanjing County (南靖县, *Nánjìng xiàn*).
* **Zone:** The provincial list names Nanjing County as the administrative affiliation of the mark holder; I have not found the legal boundary of the zone or the rules of the mark.
* **Protection regime:** Geographical indication certification mark of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) No. 36675478, goods — oolong. According to the provincial list as of June 30, 2026, the mark was registered on January 13, 2022, the holder is the Nanjing County Cross-Strait Tea Exchange Association (南靖县海峡两岸茶业交流协会), and the registration is valid.
* **Geographic coordinates:** Not given in the documents found.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **Antiquity.** Reference notes from 2017 and 2022 write that already at the end of the Sui and the beginning of the Tang the inhabitants of Nanjing gathered and drank wild tea, and under the Ming and Qing the tea of “both places” (两地) was sent as tribute to the court; which places is not clear from the text.
    * **2001.** According to publications from 2020 and 2022, the dangui variety was brought into the county; *Fujian Ribao* (2026) says “around 2002”.
    * **2009.** On November 21 the marks “南靖丹桂” and “南靖铁观音” of the same holder were registered.
    * **2018.** The county approved “南靖土楼茶” as the public brand of the tea industry. According to a 2020 publication, the brand was first shown at the Fifth Straits Tea Fair in Zhangzhou, and then nine lines of “土楼茶” were released, the main one being dangui.
    * **2019.** According to *Fujian Ribao* (2022), “南靖丹桂” was approved as the main variety of the brand. *Fujian Ribao* of 2026 dates both the brand and the bet on dangui to 2018; I leave the discrepancy as it is.
    * **2022.** On January 13 the mark “南靖土楼茶” was registered for oolong.
    * **2026.** *Fujian Ribao* writes that Nanjing is among the top ten tea counties of the province and has become the second-largest producer of southern Fujian oolong by volume.
* **Name:** “Nanjing” (南靖) is the name of the county. “Tulou” (土楼) means “earthen buildings”: the rammed-earth fortress houses of the Hakka, which the reference notes call a World Cultural Heritage site. “Cha” (茶) means “tea”. The newspaper formula “南得好茶，靖在土楼” plays on the two characters of the county's name.
* **Cultural significance:** The tea gardens, according to *Fujian Ribao* (2022), lie around the tulou tourist area of the highest 5A category and alternate with the fortress houses; according to the same newspaper in 2026, tourists drink tea in the tulou themselves. In spring and autumn the county holds “tea king” competitions and contests of dangui masters.

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

* **Varieties / Cultivars:** The sources found do not say which varieties the mark allows. According to *Fujian Ribao* (2022), the following grow in the county:
    * **丹桂** (*dānguì*) — the main variety of the brand, a national elite variety. The Tea Research Institute of the Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences selected it for almost 20 years from the offspring of a natural cross of the [肉桂](https://thetea.app/article/rou-gui) variety.
    * **[奇兰](https://thetea.app/article/qi-lan), 单丛, [金牡丹](https://thetea.app/article/jin-mudan), [金观音](https://thetea.app/article/jin-guanyin)** — other elite varieties of the county; [单枞](https://thetea.app/article/dancong) and 金牡丹 have spread over more than 5000 mu in ten years.
    * **铁观音** — the variety of the county's third mark.
* **Dangui area:** The sources diverge: “almost 10,000 mu” in a 2020 publication, “more than 6000 mu” in *Fujian Ribao* of 2022 and 2026.
* **Raw material and harvest:** According to *Fujian Ribao* (2026), the dangui leaf is thick; in the organic garden on Yangdingdong Mountain (洋顶岽) it is picked at noon and taken to the factory every half hour. No harvest standard for the mark is found in the sources consulted.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** Hills and mountains of southern Fujian; the county is called a “sea of trees” (树海) and a “bamboo ocean” (竹洋).
* **Climate:** Southern subtropical monsoon: distinct seasons, plenty of sun and rain, without a severe winter or exhausting heat.
* **Altitude:** According to reference notes from 2017 and 2022, the tea grows mainly at **400–1000 m**, in mountain forests, with fogs and a large difference between day and night temperatures. Yangdingdong Mountain with the organic garden, according to *Fujian Ribao* (2026), rises to 1050 m; the soil there is deep and fertile.
* **Scale:** According to *Fujian Ribao* (2022), the county's tea gardens cover 120,000 mu, output is 20,000 t of dry raw tea a year, and its value is 1.6 billion yuan; dangui gives 1500 t and 150 million yuan. The newspaper calls Shuyang Town (书洋镇), with 38,000 mu of tea, the most representative tea town.

**5. Production Technology:**

I have not found the rules of the mark or requirements for the technology. Below is the technology of the brand's main product, oolong from dangui, as the newspapers describe it; this is not a description of the requirements of the mark.

* **General principle.** According to *Fujian Ribao* (2022), southern Fujian oolong from dangui combines two schools: primary processing in the northern Fujian way, “seeking aroma for the sake of taste” (重味求香), finishing in the southern Fujian way, “seeking taste for the sake of aroma” (重香求味). The result is a strip-shaped oolong of the rich style (条形浓香型).
* **Stages** (according to *Fujian Ribao*, 2026):
    1.  **Picking the leaf (采青, *cǎiqīng*).**
    2.  **Cooling the leaf in the shade (凉青, *liángqīng*).**
    3.  **Withering in the sun ([晒青](https://thetea.app/article/shai-qing), *shàiqīng*).**
    4.  **Tossing (摇青, *yáoqīng*).**
    5.  **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*) and pan-firing (炒青, *chǎoqīng*).**
    6.  **Rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*).**
    7.  **Baking, or drying over fire (烘焙, *hōngbèi*).**
* **Feature of the variety.** The newspaper writes that with dangui bitterness and astringency have to be removed with particular care, and each stage is conducted according to the weather and the state of the leaf.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

No description of the appearance of the tea under the mark “南靖土楼茶” is found in the sources consulted. Below is a description of the brand's main product, strip-shaped rich-style oolong from dangui, according to *Fujian Ribao* (2022).

* **Dry leaf appearance:** Strip-shaped twists, tight and even, black-brown with an oily sheen (条索紧结匀齐，色泽乌褐油润).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No separate description in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** Floral and fruity, rich and long (香气具花、果香，馥郁幽长).
* **Taste:** Mellow and full, with a sweet “echo” (滋味醇厚有甘韵).
* **Liquor color:** Orange-yellow, clear and bright (汤色橙黄、清澈明亮).
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Soft, glossy, even — a green leaf with a red border (叶底软亮匀净、呈绿叶红镶边).

**7. Chemical Composition:**

Physicochemical data are 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 southern Fujian oolong.

* **Water temperature:** 95–100 °C.
* **Tea amount:** 7–8 g per 110 ml gaiwan.
* **Teaware:** Gaiwan or Yixing teapot.
* **Process:**
    1. Warm the teaware.
    2. Put in the tea and quickly pour off the first water.
    3. First infusions — 10–20 seconds.
    4. Increase the time little by little with each infusion.
    5. Rich-style oolong withstands six to eight infusions.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. In airtight packaging, away from light, moisture and foreign odors. Rich-style oolong is stored at room temperature; the fresh style is better kept cold and drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Price data are not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the certification mark “南靖土楼茶” No. 36675478; the holder is the county cross-strait tea exchange association.
    * Check that the producer is from Nanjing County.
    * Remember that the mark, according to the list, protects only oolong.
    * Do not confuse it with the marks “南靖丹桂” (No. 5819161) and “南靖铁观音” (No. 5819162) of the same holder.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The mark “南靖土楼茶” is more than twelve years younger than the marks “南靖丹桂” and “南靖铁观音”, even though it is named after the whole county.
* The mark holder, according to *Fujian Ribao* (2022), was created by merging the county tea association and the county chamber of tea merchants.
* The county has published a book about its tea — “南靖县茶志”.
* The brand's main product is made by a technology that combines the northern Fujian and southern Fujian schools of oolong.

**13. Comparison with Other Oolong Teas of Zhangzhou and Fujian:**

* **Nanjing Dangui (南靖丹桂):** A varietal tea of the same county and the brand's main product, under a separate 2009 mark for the goods “tea”.
* **Tie Guanyin (铁观音):** The variety of the county's third tea mark, “南靖铁观音”.
* **Rougui (肉桂):** A Wuyishan variety from whose offspring dangui was bred.
* **Zhangzhou Sezhong ([漳州色种](https://thetea.app/article/zhangzhou-se-zhong)):** A blended oolong of the same Zhangzhou prefecture-level city.
* **Fujian Wulongcha ([福建乌龙茶](https://thetea.app/article/fujian-wulongcha)):** An umbrella geographical indication for the oolongs of the province.

**In Conclusion:**

*Nánjìng tǔlóu chá* is the name not of a variety but of a place: a county where tea gardens at an altitude of 400–1000 m alternate with rammed-earth fortress houses. The 2018 brand and the 2022 mark gathered the county's oolong under this name, and the heart of the brand became dangui — a strip-shaped rich-style oolong with a floral and fruity aroma, an orange-yellow liquor and a green leaf with a red border.