---
title: "Róngxiàn huāchá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/rongxian-huacha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Róngxiàn huāchá (荣县花茶)

*Róngxiàn huāchá* (荣县花茶), “flower tea of Rongxian County”, is a flower-scented tea of Rongxian County (荣县) of Zigong prefecture-level city in the south of Sichuan Province. The main product under this name is jasmine tea: according to the county's description, it is made from local early-spring high-grade green tea and summer jasmine flowers (伏花, *fúhuā*), combining traditional and modern scenting. Since 2021 the county has held the title “hometown of Chinese flower tea”, and in the same year the name became a national geographical indication certification mark.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Flower-scented tea (花茶, *huāchá*) on a green base. Jasmine tea is the main one; besides it the county makes gardenia (栀子花茶), osmanthus ([桂花](https://thetea.app/article/guihua)茶) and other flower teas — more than sixty kinds according to 2022 data and more than a hundred, including rose tea, according to 2024 data. The base is described only for the jasmine tea — early-spring green tea; that is why the article is placed among the green teas, like the other jasmine teas of the series.
* **Category:** Sichuan flower (above all jasmine) tea; geographical indication certification mark (2021).
* **Origin:** China, Sichuan Province (四川, *Sìchuān*), Zigong prefecture-level city (自贡, *Zìgòng*), Rongxian County (荣县, *Róngxiàn*).
* **Mark:** The registration number, the holder and the zone boundary are not found in the sources consulted. The same county has a second mark — “[荣县绿茶](https://thetea.app/article/rongxian-lucha)” for green tea; this is a different product.
* **Geographic coordinates:** Rongxian County — about 29.4° N and 104.4° E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **The antiquity of tea.** The county and the press speak of more than two thousand years of tea growing. A secondary source retells the *Rongxian County Chronicle* (《荣县志》): before the Jin, tea flourished only in the lands of Shu, and under the Tang it became the fashion of All Under Heaven; the primary source has not been checked.
    * **1987.** According to the same secondary source, the Zigong Foshan Tea Factory (自贡市佛山茶厂) released the jasmine tea “龙都香茗” — on a tender base and by the scheme of “four scentings and one final” (四窨一提).
    * **1990s.** According to a *Renmin Wang* publication (2022), “龙都香茗” was at one time first in the country among flower teas; there is no independent verification of this. According to the county head (2022), by the early 1990s Rongxian was already a well-known flower tea county.
    * **2001.** The title “四川省花茶之乡” — “hometown of flower tea of Sichuan Province”.
    * **2021.** In May — the title “中国花茶之乡”, “hometown of Chinese flower tea”; in the same year — the national geographical indication certification mark “荣县花茶”.
    * **2022.** On 1 November, at the 11th Sichuan International Tea Expo, the regional brand was presented with the slogan “芬芳生活”, “fragrant life”.
    * **2024.** In March the brand was promoted in Chengdu, at the Tianfu Twin Towers (天府双塔). In May, in the 2024 ranking of regional tea brands, “荣县花茶” entered the top hundred with a brand value of 1.153 billion yuan (according to the estimate of the ranking's compilers).
    * **2025.** Following representations by the county procuratorate, which had found violations, in November the rules for using the marks “荣县花茶” and “荣县绿茶” were revised and a list of authorized companies was approved.
* **Name:** “Rongxian” (荣县) is the county, in antiquity Rongzhou (荣州, *Róngzhōu*); “*huāchá*” (花茶) means “flower tea”. Neighboring Zigong is famous for its dinosaur finds, which is why the area is also called the “dragon capital” — 龙都 (*Lóngdū*); hence the name of the main local brand.
* **Cultural significance:** The county formula, according to *Renmin Wang* (2022), is “做优绿茶、做强花茶”, “improve green tea, strengthen flower tea”. Among the local brands are 龙都, 春兰芗, 巅峰 and others, more than ten in all; “龙都香茗” was twice included among the ten famous teas of Sichuan.

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

* **Scenting plant:** Jasmine (茉莉, *mòlì*; *Jasminum sambac*). The flowers taken are “*fúhuā*” — of the summer harvest, on the hottest days. According to May 2024 data, the county has 20,000 mu under flowers for scenting.
* **Tea base:** Early-spring high-grade green tea (早春名优绿茶). According to the 2024 description, 90% of the leaf picked for famous teas is single buds (独芽). The bush varieties for the base are not named in the sources consulted.
* **Harvest standard:** The county declares “lifting-hand” picking (提手采) and the principle “两不低、三及时、九不采” — “two not lower, three on time, nine not to pick”; what exactly it includes, the sources do not disclose.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** Southern Sichuan. According to *Renmin Wang* (2022), Rongxian belongs to the southern Sichuan early-tea area — one of the three best tea areas of the province.
* **Topography:** The publications name as its main feature the dome-shaped relief (穹隆地貌, *qiónglóng dìmào*), which, in their words, creates the climate best suited to early tea.
* **Wild trees:** According to a secondary source, large wild tea trees grow on Mount Maozishan (帽子山) in Jinhua Township in the west of the county.
* **Altitude, soils, climate:** No data in the sources consulted; the county's climate figures are given in the article on Rongxian Lücha.
* **Areas:** The figures refer to the county's tea as a whole. According to *Renmin Wang* (2022) — 206,700 mu of gardens and 43 tea processing enterprises; according to 2024 data — 210,000 mu of gardens and 45 enterprises.

**5. Production Technology:**

According to the county's descriptions, the jasmine tea is scented (窨制, *xūnzhì*) by combining traditional and modern methods. The 2024 description names the scheme of “six scentings and one final” (六窨一提, *liù xūn yī tí*); in 1987 the first “龙都香茗” was made by the “four and one” scheme. One of the local companies calls “六窨一提” an intangible heritage technique (非遗); in which register and at what level it is listed could not be confirmed. Temperatures, proportions and durations are not found in the sources consulted.

The general scheme of jasmine scenting, not a description of the technology of this particular tea:

1.  **Nursing the flowers (养花, *yǎnghuā*):** The buds are held until they open.
2.  **Scenting (窨花, *xūnhuā*):** The base is mixed with the flowers in a pile.
3.  **Airing (通花, *tōnghuā*):** The pile is spread out so that it does not overheat.
4.  **Removing the flowers and re-drying (起花、复火, *qǐhuā, fùhuǒ*):** The cycle is repeated the required number of times.
5.  **Final scenting (提花, *tíhuā*):** A short cycle with a small portion of the best flowers — that very “一提” in the names of the schemes.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

Descriptions by the county from 2022 and 2024; the description of “龙都香茗” is from a secondary source.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** Tightly rolled and graceful (外形紧结秀丽, 2024); for “龙都香茗” — graceful, with visible down (外形秀丽显毫).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** A separate description is not found in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** Fresh, lively and lasting (香气鲜灵持久) — in the 2022 and 2024 descriptions.
* **Taste:** Rich and mellow, with a sweet aftertaste (滋味醇厚回甘, 2022); fresh, brisk and rich (鲜爽醇厚, 2024).
* **Liquor color:** Yellow-green, bright (汤色黄绿明亮) — in all three descriptions.
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Tender, even and bright (叶底嫩匀明亮, 2022); even, with a sheen (匀称光泽, 2024).

**7. Chemical Composition:**

Numerical data are not found in the sources consulted. *Renmin Wang* (2022) writes only that the county's flower tea has a “high content of aromatic substances” (芳香物质含量高).

**8. Health Properties:**

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

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice for jasmine tea on a green base.

* **Water temperature:** 85–90 °C; for bud tea — closer to 85 °C.
* **Tea amount:** 3 g per 150 ml.
* **Teaware:** Gaiwan or a glass tumbler.
* **Process:** Warm the teaware, pour water over the tea, cover; the first infusion — 40–60 seconds; three or four infusions, each slightly longer.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. Airtight packaging, a cool dry place, away from light and odors: the jasmine aroma fades, and the tea itself easily absorbs foreign odors. Best drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Retail prices are not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the geographical indication certification mark “荣县花茶”: since 2025 the county has had an approved list of companies permitted to use it.
    * Check that the producer is from Rongxian County of Zigong prefecture-level city.
    * Remember that “花茶” on the packaging does not necessarily mean jasmine: gardenia and osmanthus teas are also sold under this name.
    * Do not confuse it with “荣县绿茶”: this is the same county's mark for green tea.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* One county has two tea marks — for flower tea and for green tea — and it was above all the first that made the county famous.
* The number of scentings in the descriptions grew from four (1987) to six (2024).
* One of the measures to protect the marks was a food standard for gardenia flowers: according to the procuratorate's report, it has been included in the plan of Sichuan local food safety standards for 2025.

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

* **Qianwei Molihua Cha ([犍为茉莉花茶](https://thetea.app/article/qianwei-molihua-cha)):** A Sichuan jasmine tea of Qianwei County with a special technique — pan-firing the flowers together with the tea.
* **Moli Piaoxue ([茉莉飘雪](https://thetea.app/article/moli-piao-xue)):** A Sichuan jasmine tea on a green base.
* **Hengxian Molihua Cha ([横县茉莉花茶](https://thetea.app/article/hengxian-molihua-cha)):** A jasmine tea of Guangxi under its own protection.
* **Rongxian Lücha (荣县绿茶):** A green tea of the same county under a separate mark.

**In Conclusion:**

*Róngxiàn huāchá* is the flower tea of a county that calls itself the hometown of Chinese flower tea: early-spring buds of local green tea, summer jasmine and repeated scenting. The pillars of the name are the brand “龙都香茗”, since 1987, and the 2021 mark, which the county defended through the procuratorate in 2025. The official descriptions agree on the main points: a fresh, lively and lasting aroma, a yellow-green bright liquor, a rich taste.