Ruòyáng lóngzhēn (箬阳龙珍) is a mountain green tea of Wucheng District (婺城区) of Jinhua prefecture-level city in the center of Zhejiang Province. It is named after Ruoyang Township (箬阳乡), the main tea area of Wucheng. The geographical indication catalog names as its distinguishing hallmarks “the shape of a ruo leaf and the aroma of a ruo leaf” (箬叶形、箬叶香): the flat straight leaf resembles a leaf of the ruo bamboo, and the same leaf can be sensed in the aroma. Since 2020 the name has been an agricultural product geographical indication; in spring 2021 the brand was officially launched; and in 2025 the name was included in the list of geographical indication products of the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá). The geographical indication catalog does not name the class directly, but it describes the appearance of a green tea: a flat green leaf, a tender green liquor, green spent leaves. A reference site on local products directly calls Ruòyáng lóngzhēn a flat green tea (扁形绿茶).
- Category: Flat mountain green tea of Wucheng District; agricultural product geographical indication (2020); geographical indication product (2025).
- Origin: China, Zhejiang Province (浙江, Zhèjiāng), Jinhua prefecture-level city (金华, Jīnhuá), Wucheng District (婺城, Wùchéng).
- Zone: The geographical indication catalog names the entire present-day administrative territory of Wucheng District as the production area. China Daily, at the launch of the brand (April 2021), described the zone as four mountain townships of Wucheng: Ruoyang (箬阳乡), Tashi (塔石乡), Xinfan (莘畈乡) and Shafan (沙畈乡).
- Geographic coordinates: The city of Jinhua — about 29.1° N and 119.6° E; the main gardens lie in the mountains of the southern part of the district.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- Tea in the mountains of Ruoyang. According to a China Daily piece, tea has been grown in Ruoyang Township for more than 800 years, and records of tea growing in Wucheng go back to the Eastern Han (东汉).
- Wùzhōu jǔyán. According to the same piece, in the Song era Wùzhōu jǔyán (婺州举岩), a tea entered in the list of tribute to the court, was made from the tender buds of the mountain tea of Ruoyang. The sources do not link this information directly with Ruòyáng lóngzhēn: the ancient tea and the modern brand are different names of one district.
- 2020. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recognized Ruòyáng lóngzhēn as an agricultural product geographical indication (农产品地理标志); according to a 2022 report, this is the first such indication in the history of Wucheng District. A 2025 article names it among such indications of Jinhua prefecture together with Wuyang Chunyu, Pan’an Yunfeng and Lanxi Maofeng.
- 2021. On the morning of 2 April the brand “箬阳龙珍” was officially launched in Wucheng District; China Daily calls it a “national brand with a geographical indication”.
- 2022. The district’s April report on a tea festival announced the presentation of the product standard for “箬阳龙珍”; the text of the standard could not be found.
- 2025. The China National Intellectual Property Administration, by Announcement No. 640 (signed 16 July, published 13 August), recognized 1409 names as geographical indication products; according to the geographical indication catalog, Ruòyáng lóngzhēn is among them. The annexes to the announcement with the protection requirements could not be opened, so the article does not give varieties and technology from this document.
- 2024. According to a district report, on 19 April the name was included in the third provincial list of famous local products (名优“土特产”百品榜).
- Name: “Ruòyáng” (箬阳) is the name of the township; “lóngzhēn” (龙珍) is “dragon treasure”. The character 箬 in the name of the township is the same as in the word 箬叶, “leaves of the ruo bamboo”, with which the catalog compares the shape and aroma of the tea. The sources do not say whether this hallmark is connected with the choice of the name. According to a 2024 district report, from the 1980s Ruoyang Township renewed its gardens and invited a master from Longjing village on West Lake to teach processing; later, at one of the local tea factories, a tea with a high aroma was made, and a researcher of the provincial department of agriculture at the time proposed naming it “箬阳龙珍”. The source does not give the year.
- Cultural significance: A 2025 article calls Wucheng District the “home of Chinese tea culture” (中国茶文化之乡); it does not give the year the title was conferred. The same article counts four main tea districts in Jinhua prefecture — Wuyi, Pan’an, Dongyang and Wucheng. China Daily (2021) briefly retells the tea history of Wucheng: under the Tang Wùzhōu jǔyán was already famous; in the Republican years, the local “tea modeled on Anhui green tea” (仿徽绿茶); and in the 1980s the district was one of three national bases for scented tea (花茶, huāchá). According to a 2023 district report, more than ten well-known tea brands have grown up in Wucheng, among them 箬阳龙珍, 婺州举岩, 采云间 and 玉阳春.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Varieties / Cultivars: Protection requirements with a list of varieties could not be found. According to a 2023 district report, the gardens of Ruoyang Township are planted mainly with the varieties 乌牛早 (Wūniúzǎo), 龙井43 (Lóngjǐng 43) and 鸠坑 (Jiūkēng). The reference site on local products names for the tea itself the local population (群体种, according to it — 鸠坑), 龙井43, 乌牛早, 白叶一号 (Báiyè yīhào) and 春雨1号 (Chūnyǔ 1); this list has not been checked against the primary source.
- Raw material: Data on a raw material standard are not found in the sources consulted. Tender buds are mentioned only in the account of the Song-era Wùzhōu jǔyán.
- Harvest standard: Data are not found in the sources consulted.
- Harvest time: Data are not found in the sources consulted.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Region: The mountainous south of Wucheng District.
- Growing altitude: According to China Daily, the average altitude of the mountainous south of Wucheng is 600–1000 m. The average altitude of Ruoyang Township is 650 m, and all its tea mountains lie above 600 m.
- Forest and nature conservation: Ruoyang Township has 80,000 mu of mountain forests, with forest cover above 85%. The mountainous south of Wucheng is the Nanshan Provincial Nature Reserve (南山省级自然保护区) and a protection zone where the drinking water sources for Jinhua are formed.
- Climate: The mountains stand in clouds and mist almost all year round. Numerical climate data are not found in the sources consulted.
- Soils: According to a 2024 district report, rich in organic matter; other data are not found in the sources consulted.
- Area and output: According to China Daily (2021), the zone has 300 ha of tea gardens and about 80 t of tea a year. In Ruoyang Township itself, according to the same piece, there are more than 4800 mu of gardens; according to reports of 2022 and 2023, 95% of them have passed certification as “pollution-free agricultural products” (无公害农产品), and 850 mu, according to the 2022 report, organic certification. The numbers do not match well: 4800 mu is about 320 ha, more than the 300 ha for the whole zone of four townships; the sources do not explain how they relate. For the whole of Wucheng District, China Daily in 2021 gave 31,000 mu of gardens, 2850 t of tea and 145 million yuan of output value a year, and the district’s 2023 report gave 22,000 mu and 1800 t of dry tea. The district’s 2024 report gives other numbers for the zone itself: 54 administrative villages of four townships, almost 20,000 mu of gardens, 220 t of tea and 86 million yuan of output value; seven enterprises received the right to use the mark.
5. Production Technology
An official description of the technology of Ruòyáng lóngzhēn is not found in the sources consulted. The reference site on local products names four stages, without parameters:
- Spreading of the fresh leaf (摊青, tānqīng).
- Fixation (杀青, shāqīng): In green tea, heating at this stage stops oxidation — a general property of the class.
- Moisture regain (回潮, huícháo).
- Drying (干燥, gānzào).
The sources do not report how the flat shape of the leaf is obtained. A 2022 report mentions picking competitions in Ruoyang Township and a demonstration of the traditional craft of hand pan-firing tea (传统的炒茶手艺).
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
The description is given by the geographical indication catalog and a China Daily piece; the latter refers to the mountain tea of Ruoyang Township as a whole.
- Dry leaf appearance: Flat and straight, shaped like a leaf of the ruo bamboo (外形扁直呈箬叶形), green, with luster (色泽绿润) — according to the catalog.
- Dry leaf aroma: A separate description is not found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Clean and high, with a note of ruo bamboo leaves (香气清高带箬叶香) — according to the catalog; China Daily writes of a light note of the same leaves (略带箬叶香).
- Taste: Full and sweet-fresh (滋味醇厚甘爽) — according to the catalog; in China Daily — fresh and brisk, soft and smooth, with a sweet rich aroma (鲜爽柔滑、甜香浓醇).
- Liquor color: Tender green and bright (汤色嫩绿明亮) — according to the catalog; in China Daily — tender green, clear and bright (嫩绿透亮).
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender and even, opening into a “flower”, green and lustrous (叶底嫩匀成朵绿亮) — according to the catalog.
7. Chemical Composition
Physicochemical 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 for green tea. In airtight packaging, in a refrigerator at 0–5 °C, away from light, moisture and odors; drink within a year.
10. Price and Counterfeits
Price data are not found in the sources consulted.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication mark on the packaging and check that the producer is authorized to use it.
- Check that the producer is located in Wucheng District; the main gardens are in the townships of Ruoyang, Tashi, Xinfan and Shafan.
- Compare the appearance with the catalog description: a flat straight leaf shaped like a ruo bamboo leaf, a tender green liquor.
- Keep the scale in mind: according to district data, the zone produced about 80 t of tea in 2021 and 220 t in 2024, and in 2024 seven enterprises held the right to the mark, so very large lots under this name should raise suspicion.
11. Interesting Facts
- Locals call Ruoyang Township the “Jiuzhaigou of central Zhejiang” and the “little Tibet of Jinhua”.
- Wùzhōu jǔyán, the Song tribute tea made from the buds of the mountain tea of Ruoyang, still lives today as a separate brand of the district, alongside Ruòyáng lóngzhēn.
- Ruoyang Township alone, judging by the numbers in the same piece, has more gardens than are given for the whole zone of four townships.
12. Comparison with Other Teas of Jinhua Prefecture
- Lanxi Maofeng (兰溪毛峰): A green tea of Lanxi county-level city of the same prefecture, also an agricultural product geographical indication and also on the 2025 list. Its main hallmark is the “orchid shape”, not a flat leaf; for it, protection requirements with varieties, a harvest standard and technology are known, while for Ruòyáng lóngzhēn they could not be found.
- Wuyang Chunyu (武阳春雨): A green tea of Wuyi County of the same prefecture; the 2025 article names it alongside Ruòyáng lóngzhēn.
- Pan’an Yunfeng (磐安云峰): A green tea of Pan’an County, another agricultural product geographical indication of the prefecture.
In Conclusion:
Ruòyáng lóngzhēn is a young brand of the mountainous south of Wucheng with an old history of the place: gardens above 600 m in clouds and mists, next to the nature reserve and the water sources of Jinhua, and the memory of the Song-era Wùzhōu jǔyán, which was made from the buds of these same mountains. It is recognized by its flat straight leaf resembling a ruo bamboo leaf, by its tender green liquor and by the note of the same leaves in the aroma. There are few documents on the tea itself: the 2020 indication, the brand launch in 2021 and the recognition in 2025; the brand’s varieties and technology have not yet been officially described, and the article should be supplemented when the protection requirements appear.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page