Qūxī lǜchá (曲溪绿茶) is a green tea of Changyang Tujia Autonomous County (长阳土家族自治县) of Yichang prefecture-level city, Hubei Province. The name comes from the small Quxi River near Ziqiu Town (资丘镇), and the protection zone is described not by the county grid but by the river valley: from the Quxi basin it stretches along both banks of the Qingjiang River (清江). Since 2020 the name has been an agricultural product geographical indication, and in 2025 it was included in the list of geographical indication products of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). According to a 2025 publication, the tea gardens of the Quxi valley expanded after it became the core of a provincial nature reserve.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá). The name itself states the class, and the description of the indication speaks of a technology without oxidation: fixation, rolling, drying.
- Category: River-valley green tea of western Hubei; agricultural product geographical indication (2020) and geographical indication product in the CNIPA list (2025).
- Origin: China, Hubei Province (湖北, Húběi), Yichang prefecture-level city (宜昌, Yíchāng), Changyang Tujia Autonomous County (长阳, Chángyáng); the center of the zone is Ziqiu Town.
- Protection zone: The center is the basin of the Quxi River near Ziqiu Town; further on, the zone follows the Qingjiang valley along both banks, west of the Fenshui Stream (分水溪) of Yazikou Township (鸭子口乡). It includes 18 administrative villages: Jing’an, Bashan, Malianping, Xiwan, Chenjiaping, Zhuyuanping, Xiyangpo, Wufangling, Quanshuiwan, Liangshuisi, Linxiangxi, Zhongxi, Duiwuxi, Tianchikou, Qinglong, Bandeng’ao, Liangshanba and Zhizheping.
- Geographic coordinates: 110°23′37″–110°54′38″ E, 30°17′03″–30°28′08″ N.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- A long history — without dates. The description of the indication says that tea has long been grown here, but does not give a single date. A documentary history of the valley’s tea is not found in the sources consulted.
- 2010. According to a publication of the provincial department of agriculture (April 2025), in June 2010 the Hubei government established the Bengjianzi (崩尖子) provincial nature reserve, and the Quxi basin became its core. Developing a livelihood in the core of the reserve was difficult: one was needed that would not harm nature and would bring income, and after long deliberation it was decided to try tea. The county and the town subsidized the households and sent technicians to the villages. According to the same publication, within two years the tea gardens of the valley exceeded 1200 mu.
- 2020. The name received an agricultural product geographical indication; the neighboring villages and towns were building a common tea belt under this brand.
- 2025. The name was included in the list of geographical indication products approved by CNIPA announcement No. 640.
- Awards. The title of quality tea at the 8th all-China “Zhongcha Bei” (中茶杯) competition and gold at the 5th provincial “Echa Bei” (鄂茶杯) competition. The years of the awards are not named in the sources consulted.
- Name: “Qūxī” (曲溪) means “winding stream”, the name of the river; “lǜchá” (绿茶) means “green tea”.
- Cultural significance: Changyang is a Tujia autonomous county; the zone lies in the spurs of the Wuling Mountains. The 2025 publication describes the Quxi as a river more than 20 km long that passes through two villages and sustains more than 3500 inhabitants; tea, according to the same publication, has turned here from a sideline into the main occupation.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety / Cultivar: Specific varieties are not named in the sources consulted. The description of the indication notes that the area is rich in resources of local population (群体) tea bushes, and the area itself is called the “plant gene bank of Central China” (华中植物基因库).
- Raw material: According to the description of the indication — young shoots.
- Picking order: According to the 2025 publication, in spring, buds (芽茶) are picked first, then raw material for maojian, then leaf for ordinary green tea.
- Harvest time and standard: Exact dates and a harvest standard are not found in the sources consulted.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Topography: The southwest of Hubei, the middle and lower reaches of the Qingjiang, the spurs of the Wuling Mountains. According to the description of the indication, the terrain rises in the south, west and north and descends to the east; the Qingjiang crosses the zone from west to east, the mountains run in ridges, and the slopes are cut by ravines.
- Forest: Forest cover — 87%.
- Climate: According to the description of the indication, in the “semi-highlands” (二高山) winter is long, while spring, summer and autumn are roughly equal; there are fogs all year round and much diffused light. The description links this to the accumulation of aromatic and nitrogenous substances.
- Soils and fertilizers: Much humus and leaf litter. The description of the indication separately speaks of manure from small households, rotted with straw, and of green manures that are plowed in as the main fertilizer.
- Growing altitude: No data in the sources consulted.
- Area and output: According to the description of the indication — 1200 ha and 900 t. According to the 2025 publication, the Quxi basin has 6000 mu of gardens, of which about 4000 mu are already yielding; the annual value of the valley’s tea output is estimated there at more than 30 million yuan.
- Garden monitoring: According to the same publication, pest sensors and weather stations have been installed in the gardens; they collect data on weather, soil and diseases.
5. Production Technology
The description of the indication names the standard green tea technology — without oxidation: fixation, rolling, drying. Parameters are not found in the sources consulted. According to the 2025 publication, five business entities (市场主体) were attracted to and fostered in the valley; after technical modernization, according to the same publication, the dry leaf became straighter and the liquor greener.
Below is the general scheme for green tea, not a description of this particular tea:
- Spreading the fresh leaf (摊放, tānfàng): The leaf gives up part of its moisture.
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): Heating stops oxidation and preserves the color.
- Rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn): The leaf gets its shape.
- Drying (干燥, gānzào).
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
According to the description of the indication:
- Dry leaf appearance: Thin, tight strips, slightly curved, emerald, with noticeable white down (紧秀略弯，色泽翠绿，白毫显露).
- Dry leaf aroma: No descriptions in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Clean, high and long-lasting (清高持久).
- Taste: Soft and rich (醇厚).
- Liquor color: Tender green, bright (嫩绿明亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender green, even (嫩绿匀齐).
7. Chemical Composition
Indicators from the description of the indication:
| Indicator | Norm |
|---|---|
| Moisture | no more than 7.0% |
| Water-soluble substances | no less than 38.0% |
| Tea polyphenols | no less than 18.0% |
| Free amino acids | no less than 3.0% |
These are lower and upper limits, not measurements of a particular tea. Other data are not found in the sources consulted.
8. 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:
- Warm the teaware.
- Put in the tea and pour the water down the side.
- First infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
- Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
- Top up with water.
- Two or three repeat infusions.
9. Storage
Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors. Green tea is best drunk within a year.
10. Price and Counterfeits
Prices for the finished tea are not found in the sources consulted. According to the 2025 publication, in spring, buds sold first at 50, then at up to 100 yuan per jin; the publication calls this a doubling of the former price.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the agricultural product geographical indication mark.
- Check that the raw material comes from the Qingjiang valley in Changyang — from the 18 villages of the zone, and not simply from the county.
- The dry leaf — thin, curved emerald strips with down; the liquor — tender green.
11. Interesting Facts
- The zone of Qūxī lǜchá is defined by the valley: the river basin and the banks of the Qingjiang, not whole townships and towns.
- Tea was chosen here because of the reserve: the valley became the core of a protected area in 2010, and a livelihood was needed that would not harm nature.
- The description of the indication separately speaks of fertilizers — manure, straw and green manures.
- According to a 2025 report, spring buds in the valley sold at 50–100 yuan per jin — twice as expensive as before.
12. Comparison with Other Teas
- Wufeng Maojian (五峰毛尖): A green tea of the neighboring Wufeng County in the same Yichang prefecture, with a long documented history; for Qūxī lǜchá no historical dates are found in the sources consulted, and the valley’s gardens expanded after 2010.
- Dengcun Lücha (邓村绿茶): A high-mountain green tea of Yichang prefecture near the Three Gorges.
- Xingshan Baicha (兴山白茶): A green tea of Yichang prefecture made from a light-leaf variety, included in the same 2025 CNIPA list.
- Yihong Gongfu (宜红工夫): Yichang red tea; Changyang County is part of its historical area.
In Conclusion:
Qūxī lǜchá is a green tea whose name is tied to a river: the zone is described by the Qingjiang valley and the Quxi basin, and the industry itself grew after the valley became the core of a nature reserve. The documents say little about it, but they are specific — 18 villages, coordinates, appearance and norms for polyphenols and amino acids. History, varieties and altitudes are not in them, and they should not be invented.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page