---
title: "Píngshān chǎoqīng chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/pingshan-chaoqing-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Píngshān chǎoqīng chá (屏山炒青茶)

*Píngshān chǎoqīng chá* (屏山炒青茶) is a pan-fired green tea of Pingshan County (屏山县), Yibin prefecture-level city, in the south of Sichuan Province. The name states the method: 炒青 (*chǎoqīng*) is a green tea fixed and dried to completion in a pan. The local school is famed for its “fire” (火功): a low temperature and long firing, which give the tea its main feature — a lasting chestnut aroma (栗香). Since 2009 the name *Píngshān chǎoqīng* (屏山炒青) has been an agricultural product geographical indication (AGI), and since 26 December 2011 *Píngshān chǎoqīng chá* has also been protected as a geographical indication product.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*) with pan fixation. The technical requirements of the indication describe two forms — twisted tea (条形茶) and flat tea (扁形茶).
* **Category:** Geographical indication product (2011); since 2009 also an agricultural indication. There is also a certification mark: the rules for its use were published on 13 June 2017; the registration date is not found in the sources consulted.
* **Origin:** China, Sichuan Province (四川, *Sìchuān*), Yibin prefecture-level city (宜宾, *Yíbīn*), Pingshan County (屏山, *Píngshān*).
* **Protection zone:** The technical specifications of the agricultural indication (2009) name 16 townships and towns of the county — Jinping, Dacheng, Longhua, Zhongdu, Xinshi, Xin'an, Fuyan, Furong, Xiaxi, Pingbian, Qingping, Xinfa, Taiping, Longxi, Loudong and Yachi — and 186 natural villages in them. How the zone is described in the 2011 announcement could not be checked.
* **Geographic coordinates:** About 28.7° N and 104.2° E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **Antiquity.** A popular reference description, citing *Huayang Guozhi* (华阳国志), writes that as early as the year 134 local people used wild tea, and in the Three Kingdoms era Pingshan produced tea. The formula of the 2026 press materials is “beginning in the pre-Qin era, rise under the Song”.
    * **Ming and Qing.** The technical specifications of the agricultural indication quote the *Annals of Mahu Prefecture* (《马湖府志》) of the Jiajing era: “Pingyi County produces tea” (Pingyi and Mahu are old names of Pingshan). A reference description adds that by the Ming the *chǎoqīng* technique had taken shape and people in Sichuan began to speak of the “tea of three mountains” — Emei, Mengding and Pingshan, and that under Daoguang the dignitary Long Ruitu (龙瑞图) sent the tea to the court and it became a court tea. The description does not give the primary sources for these two stories — this is local tradition.
    * **20th century.** According to the technical specifications of the indication, “Pingshan tea” is noted as a local specialty in the first edition of the dictionary *Cihai* (辞海), and from 1984 the tea received the title of provincial quality green tea twelve times in a row. A reference description adds that in the 1960s mass production was switched to machines, while the top grades were made by hand.
    * **2009.** On 14 July the Ministry of Agriculture, by announcement No. 1236 (as an industry portal gives it), registered *Píngshān chǎoqīng* as an agricultural product geographical indication (AGI).
    * **2011.** On 26 December the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, by announcement No. 196, placed the tea under protection as a geographical indication product.
    * **2021.** On 19 November the “屏山炒青” technique was included in the sixth list of intangible heritage of Yibin prefecture-level city. One source calls it provincial heritage; this could not be confirmed.
    * **2024.** Yibin prefecture-level city issued the local standard DB5115/T 60—2024 “Quality requirements for geographical indication product: *Píngshān chǎoqīng chá*”, in force since 12 April 2024.
* **Brand:** In the ranking of the value of regional geographical indication brands — 93rd place in 2022; in 2026 the name entered the list of 136 brands valued at 3 billion yuan or more.

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

* **Varieties / Cultivars:** The technical requirements of the indication (2011) allow the local population and varieties suitable for this tea. The technical specifications of the agricultural indication (2009) name as the main ones the bred downy (多毫型) varieties “Zaobaijian No. 5” (早[白尖](https://thetea.app/article/bai-jian)五号) and “Fuxuan No. 9” (福选九号).
* **Planting** (according to the requirements of the indication): propagation by cuttings in autumn, no more than 45,000 bushes per hectare, organic fertilizer — no less than 2.5 t per hectare a year.
* **Harvest standard:** For twisted tea — from a single bud to a bud with two leaves; for flat tea — from a single bud to a bud with one just-unfolding leaf.
* **Harvest time:** From early February to the end of April — according to the requirements of the indication. The 2009 technical specifications and a description of the hand-made tradition (2024) name picking before Guyu (21 April) as the best, with “a bud with two or three leaves” as the raw material; the county adds that it is picked with a “lifting hand” (提手采).

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The south of Sichuan, the spurs of the Xiaoliangshan range with the mountains Wuzhishan (1350 m) and Laojunshan (2009 m) — “the first peak of southern Sichuan”.
* **Growing altitude:** According to the requirements of the indication — mountains no lower than 500 m. Descriptions diverge: the tea zone at 600–1000 m, gardens at 800–1050 m, tea throughout the county from 300 to 1500 m.
* **Climate:** Humid subtropical monsoon; descriptions speak of a “vertical climate”: warm winters, cool summers, fogs, little sun and a large daily temperature range.
* **Soils:** According to the requirements of the indication — yellow soils (黄壤) with pH 4.5–6.5, organic matter no less than 2 %, a layer no less than 50 cm. Press materials repeat the formula of “selenium-rich high-mountain soils above 800 m”; the business press (2023) writes of 240 km² of selenium-rich land and 700 km² sufficient in selenium. Analyses of the tea itself for selenium are not found in the sources consulted.
* **Garden area:** Verified data on the total area are not found in the sources consulted. The business press (2023) gives 120,500 *mu* of tea gardens certified as a raw material base for “green” products, and 15 tea factories with a capacity of 300 t or more.

**5. Production Technology:**

The technical requirements of the indication (2011) set two schemes.

* **Twisted tea:** fresh leaf → cooling → fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*) → cooling → rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*) → breaking up lumps → first drying (毛火, *máohuǒ*) → cooling → full drying (足火, *zúhuǒ*) → cooling → finishing in the pan (辉锅, *huīguō*) → cooling.
* **Flat tea:** fresh leaf → cooling → fixation → cooling → first shaping → cooling → second shaping → cooling → finishing in the pan → cooling.

| Operation | Parameters according to the requirements of the indication |
| :--- | :--- |
| Fixation | Pan at 240–260 °C, 4–5 minutes; for twisted tea — until the leaf is dark green, the stalk bends but does not break, the leaf is slightly sticky |
| Rolling | 15–20 minutes, until the first strands form, slippery to the touch |
| First drying | 120–150 °C, until the strands become dark green and prickly |
| Full drying | 90–110 °C, 50–60 minutes |
| Finishing, twisted | Pan at 80–90 °C, 50–60 minutes, until a grey-green oily sheen, moisture below 6 % |
| Finishing, flat | Pan at 100–120 °C, 20–25 minutes, moisture below 6 % |
| Shaping of flat tea | 140–160 °C, 10–15 minutes; after the first — no less than 70 % flat leaves, after the second — no less than 98 % |

The hand-made tradition, as the county describes it (2024), counts 14 operations: three fixations with decreasing heat (the first at about 300 °C), three rollings, dryings with rests of several hours each and finishing at 60–70 °C for 90–120 minutes, and at the end five minutes of strong fire “for the aroma”. The techniques are adjusted to the raw material — “look at the tea, make the tea” (看茶做茶).

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

According to the requirements of the indication for twisted tea:

* **Dry leaf appearance:** Tight strands with visible tips (显锋苗), green with a sheen (绿润).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** There is no separate description; full drying, according to the requirements, continues until a “distinct tea aroma” appears.
* **Liquor aroma:** A lasting chestnut aroma (栗香持久).
* **Taste:** Mellow and fresh (醇爽). The expert assessment that reference descriptions cite is “fresh, mellow, with a sweet aftertaste, withstands many infusions”.
* **Liquor color:** Clear and bright (清澈明亮); the expert assessment — yellow-green and bright.
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Tender, even, opening into a “flower”, green and bright (嫩匀成朵，绿亮).

Flat tea is flat and straight, green with a sheen, with the same lasting chestnut aroma; its infused leaf is tender yellow and bright (嫩黄明亮).

**7. Chemical Composition:**

Requirements of the indication:

| Indicator | Norm |
| :--- | :--- |
| Crude fiber | no more than 16 % |
| Water-soluble extractives | no less than 36 % |
| Moisture after finishing | below 6 % |

The technical specifications of the agricultural indication (2009) give for the tea itself: tea polyphenols 25.0–31.5 %, amino acids 2.7–3.4 %, water-soluble extractives 40.5–47.1 % — “more than 41 %, whereas ordinary *chǎoqīng* has about 30 %”. This is a characteristic from the description of the indication, without method or sample.

**8. Health Properties:**

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

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice for green tea; this tea's own parameters are not found in the sources consulted.

* **Water temperature:** 85–90 °C for twisted *chǎoqīng*; 80–85 °C for tender flat tea.
* **Tea amount:** 3 g per 150 ml.
* **Teaware:** A gaiwan or a glass tumbler.
* **Process:** Warm the teaware; the first infusion — after 40–60 seconds; drink, leaving part of the liquor, and top up three or four times.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C or in a cool, dry place, away from light, moisture and odors. Best drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Verified price data are not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the geographical indication mark and a producer from Pingshan County; according to a report from early 2021, 10 enterprises held the right to use the mark.
    * Twisted tea should be grey-green with an oily sheen — the trace of long finishing in the pan.
    * The main feature of the liquor is a lasting chestnut aroma.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The Sichuan saying about the “tea of three mountains” places Pingshan alongside Emei and Mengding — so says local tradition.
* The finishing of twisted tea in the pan goes on at 80–90 °C for almost an hour; local descriptions link the chestnut tone precisely with “low fire and long firing”.
* According to county data for 2020, enterprises with the right to the mark produced 85.6 million yuan worth of products bearing the indication.

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

* **Yibin Zaocha ([宜宾早茶](https://thetea.app/article/yibin-zaocha)):** An early green tea of the same Yibin prefecture; it relies on the timing of the harvest, not on fire.
* **Emei Zhuyeqing ([峨眉竹叶青](https://thetea.app/article/emei-zhuyeqing)):** A flat tea of Mount Emei — one of the “three mountains” of the saying.
* **Mengding Ganlu ([蒙顶甘露](https://thetea.app/article/mengding-gan-lu)):** A twisted tea of Mengdingshan — the third of the “three mountains”.
* **Junlian Hongcha ([筠连红茶](https://thetea.app/article/junlian-hongcha)):** A red tea of Junlian County in the same Yibin prefecture.

**In Conclusion:**

*Píngshān chǎoqīng chá* is a rare case in which what is protected is not so much a place as a fire: the requirements of the indication set out the pan by degrees and minutes, from the hot fixation to the nearly hour-long finishing. The result is a tight grey-green tea with a chestnut aroma, a mellow taste and resilience to repeated brewing.