Xiùshān máojiān · thetea.app

Xiùshān máojiān (秀山毛尖) is a green tea of Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County (秀山土家族苗族自治县) in the southeast of Chongqing, from gardens in the Wuling Mountains. The Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration describes it as a tea of traditional pan-firing in a wok (炒青, chǎoqīng): tight twists with a noticeable aroma of young chestnut, a bright yellow-green liquor, a fresh, mellow taste. Since 28 December 2018 the name has been protected as a geographical indication certification mark, and the technique of growing and making it, according to the county website, is an item of intangible cultural heritage at the municipal level. The Chongqing government calls the county the largest tea base of the municipality, and Xiùshān máojiān one of the three regional public brands of Chongqing. It should not be confused with 秀山茶叶 (Xiùshān cháyè, “Xiushan tea”): under that name tea of the same county was recognized as a geographical indication product in 2025 — under a separate registration and with product requirements that differ from the official descriptions of Xiùshān máojiān.

1. Classification and Origin

Type: Green tea (绿茶, lǜchá). I have not seen a document of the mark stating the class; the class is determined from the technology in two official descriptions. The Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration writes that the tea is made by the traditional technology of pan-firing in a wok (传统炒青工艺). The county government, on its page on intangible heritage, lists the stages — fixation, rolling, intermediate drying, drying; there is no oxidation stage in the list — and directly calls Xiùshān máojiān a select tea among green teas (为绿茶中的精品).
Category: Twisted green tea of the “máojiān” type; geographical indication certification mark (2018).
Origin: China, the directly administered municipality of Chongqing (重庆, Chóngqìng), Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County (秀山, Xiùshān).
Zone: I have not seen the legal boundary of the mark’s zone; the sources speak of the county’s gardens in the Wuling Mountains. As the main areas of the traditional technique, the county government names the towns of Hong’an (洪安镇) and Zhongling (钟灵镇) and Haiyang township (海洋乡). The zone of the neighboring name 秀山茶叶 — 11 townships and towns, 109 villages — is fixed in its own protection requirements and does not apply to the mark 秀山毛尖.
Protection status: The Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration lists 秀山毛尖 as a geographical indication since 28 December 2018 and keeps its card in the section of collective and certification marks. The type of protection is clarified by a report in the newspaper Chongqing Ribao (2023), reprinted by the Chongqing agricultural commission: in 2018 “秀山毛尖”, as the public brand of Xiushan tea, was registered as a geographical indication certification mark (地理标志证明商标). I did not find the numbers of the mark or of the holder; I have not rechecked whether the registration is in force now. A publication of the Chongqing government (2022), in its paragraph on tea, mentions that the county has two geographical indications among the marks of “两品一标” without naming them; the same publication separately names the agricultural product geographical indication 秀山金银花 (2010), so it cannot be concluded from this text that both indications belong to tea.
Relation to 秀山茶叶: This is a different protected name, not a second name of the same mark. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), by announcement No. 640 (dated 16 July 2025, published 13 August 2025), recognized 秀山茶叶 as a geographical indication product; the applicant is the agricultural technical service center of the county (秀山土家族苗族自治县农业技术服务中心). The protection requirements of 秀山茶叶 describe the product differently from the official descriptions of Xiùshān máojiān: the varieties 福鼎大毫 and 蜀永1号, gardens from 700 m, raw material of no less than 70% spring shoots of “a bud and two leaves”, drying in a dryer (烘干). The official descriptions of Xiùshān máojiān speak of buds or a bud with one or two leaves, century-old bushes of the Sichuan small-leaf variety and a wok, and the Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration speaks of gardens above 800 m. I have not seen the rules for the use of the mark 秀山毛尖, where the requirements for the product under the mark are set, so the comparison is made with the descriptions of the intellectual property administration and of the county, not with the document of the mark. Chongqing Ribao calls 秀山毛尖 the public brand of Xiushan tea, but it does not follow from this that the 2018 mark and the 2025 indication protect one and the same product. Whether the holder of the mark 秀山毛尖 is the same as the applicant for 秀山茶叶 cannot be established from the sources consulted.
Geographic coordinates: About 28.4° N and 109.0° E (the county seat). Both sources place Xiushan in the “golden tea belt of the 30th parallel”; the county lies further south, so this is more a slogan than a coordinate.

2. History and Cultural Significance

History:
- Background. The Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration places Xiushan in the land of “巴山峡川” — “the Ba mountains and river gorges” mentioned in The Classic of Tea (《茶经》). According to its own description, tea trees several hundred years old still grow in the gardens left by the hereditary tusi rulers (土司) of Xiushan.
- Ancient mentions of the land. According to the county page on intangible heritage, under the Eastern Han, in the Jian’an years, the lands of Xiushan were part of the south of Fuling Commandery (涪陵郡), and the Huayang Guo Zhi (《华阳国志》) writes that this commandery supplied tea, cinnabar, lacquer, honey and wax. From the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing, according to the page, tea was Xiushan’s main commodity of exchange with its neighbors. This is the general history of Xiushan tea, not of the name Xiùshān máojiān.
- Tribute to the court — two versions. According to a report of the Chongqing government (2022), at the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing the Xiushan teas 猛董茶, 民主茶 and 尖山茶 were included among the tribute teas. A 2017 publication on the website of China Radio International (a reprint from the newspaper Jingji Ribao), citing the county agricultural commission, gives a different time and a different name: at the end of the Qing the tribute tea was 猛洞茶, and there was a saying “a dou of rice for a jin of tea” (斗米换斤茶). Which version is correct cannot be decided from the sources consulted. The county government, on its page on intangible heritage, supports the late Qing date but does not name the tea.
- 2015. The county began to develop tea on a large scale under the scheme “processing company plus base plus farming households”.
- 2018. Xiushan was the first in Chongqing to introduce subsidies for summer and autumn tea: before that, according to the publication, summer and autumn leaf was neither picked nor processed. In the same year the county built a demonstration base of export tea, and on 28 December Xiùshān máojiān became a geographical indication.
- 2021. The county received the national title of “beautiful tea land with regional features”; the county itself and Xiùshān máojiān were included in China’s list of “a hundred counties, a hundred teas and a hundred people”.
- Intangible heritage. On the county website, “The technique of growing and making Xiùshān máojiān” (秀山毛尖栽培与制作技艺) is listed as an item of intangible cultural heritage at the municipal level. The year of inclusion is not given there.
Name: 秀山 (Xiùshān) is the name of the county; 毛尖 (máojiān) means “downy tips”, the general name of twisted green teas made from young downy shoots.
Cultural significance: The county builds its promotion on the model “geographical indication plus company brand”: Xiùshān máojiān is the common name under which the brands of local firms are released. The Chongqing government calls it one of the three regional public brands of the municipality.

3. Botanical Description and Raw Material

Variety / Cultivar: The county government names the leaf of bushes of the Sichuan small-leaf variety (川小叶种, chuān xiǎoyè zhǒng) more than a hundred years old as the best raw material for Xiùshān máojiān. About the county’s tea industry as a whole, the 2017 publication writes that old bushes of the Sichuan small-leaf (川小叶) were renewed and the varieties 福鼎大白茶, 黄金茶 and 金观音 were introduced. The Chongqing government (2022) mentions nurseries of “improved tea varieties of Wulingshan” (武陵山良种茶叶繁育场), but does not name the varieties. The protection requirements of the neighboring name 秀山茶叶 set other varieties — 福鼎大毫 and 蜀永1号.
Raw material: Buds (芽头) — so writes the Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration when it calculates the yield of tea (section 12). The county government describes the traditional raw material more broadly: select shoots of “a bud with one leaf” or “a bud with two leaves” (一叶一芽, 两叶一芽).
Harvest: The tea picking season in the county, according to a report of the Chongqing government, lasts from March to October, about eight months. For traditional Xiùshān máojiān the county government names the time around the Qingming and Guyu seasons (清明, 谷雨), that is, roughly April.
Harvest standard: I have not seen a normative document of the mark with a harvest standard. The two descriptions differ: the Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration speaks of buds, the county government of a bud with one or two leaves.

4. Terroir and Cultivation Features

Region: The Wuling Mountains in the southeast of Chongqing.
Growing altitude: Above 800 m — according to the description of the Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration. The county government writes otherwise: the traditional gardens lie in the low and middle mountains, at an altitude of 500–800 m. For the neighboring name 秀山茶叶 the protection requirements set an altitude from 700 m.
Climate: According to the description of the Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration, there are many fogs in winter and spring and much cloud in summer and autumn (冬春多雾，夏秋多云); the gardens are far from the city.
Soils: No data found in the sources consulted.
Forest and tea: The county government describes an established system in which tea grows together with forest (林-茶复合农业生态系统): forest above the gardens, fields, rivers and villages below. According to the government, the forest keeps moisture for the gardens, and the fields give them nourishment.
Garden area: According to the Chongqing government (2022), the county has 183,000 mu of tea gardens. The same source speaks of 44 tea processing companies and 66 cooperatives.

5. Production Technology

The Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration describes the key stage as follows: the picked leaf is placed in a red-hot large iron wok and slowly pan-fired over a low fire, while the master turns it with both hands, “as if in taijiquan”, so that every leaf is heated evenly. This cycle is repeated two or three times. The source gives no parameters — temperatures, times, moisture.

The county government, on its page on intangible heritage, lists the stages of the traditional technique:

Sorting on sieves (筛分, shāifēn).
Spreading of the fresh leaf (摊放, tānfàng).
Fixation (杀青, shāqīng).
Cooling (摊凉, tānliáng).
First rolling (初揉, chūróu).
Intermediate drying (烘二青, hōng èrqīng).
Second rolling (复揉, fùróu).
Breaking up lumps (解块, jiěkuài).
Shaping (做形, zuòxíng).
Drying (干燥, gānzào).

The main equipment of the traditional technique, according to the same page, is a wood-fired iron wok (柴火铁锅).

6. Organoleptic Characteristics

The two official descriptions — of the Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration and of the county government — almost coincide:

Dry leaf appearance: Dense, tight twists (条索紧密) — according to the Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration. The county government: a dense, even leaf (紧结匀整) of a fresh, lustrous emerald color (色泽鲜润翠绿).
Dry leaf aroma: A noticeable aroma of young chestnut (嫩栗香显) — according to the Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration, in the same phrase as the appearance of the dry leaf.
Liquor aroma: The county government: the aroma is high, long and pure, with a strong chestnut tone (香气高长纯正、栗香高). Whether this refers to the dry leaf or to the liquor is not stated there.
Taste: Fresh, mellow, sweet and smooth (鲜醇甘滑) — so write both sources.
Liquor color: Yellow-green, bright (黄绿明亮) — so write both sources.
Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender green, even (嫩绿均匀); the county government adds that they are bright (明亮).

7. Chemical Composition

The Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration gives the share of tea polyphenols, but without the method, the basis of calculation or the sample, and the figure itself does not fit the usual values for green tea. I do not carry it over. No other physico-chemical data were found in the sources consulted. The limits from the protection requirements of the neighboring name 秀山茶叶 (water-soluble substances 38.0–50.0%, polyphenols 13.0–24.0%, amino acids 1.8–4.5%, caffeine 1.8–4.0%) are intended for that product and do not apply to the mark 秀山毛尖.

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:
1. Warm the teaware.
2. Put in the tea and pour the water down the side.
3. The first infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
4. Drink, leaving part of the liquor.
5. Top up with water.
6. Two or three further infusions.

9. Storage

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

10. Price and Counterfeits

No price data were found in the sources consulted. The Chongqing government writes that Xiushan tea is “good and inexpensive” and that the county has for years made tea to order for other brands.

How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the geographical indication mark “秀山毛尖” on the packaging.
- Do not confuse it with the mark of the geographical indication product “秀山茶叶”: this is a different protected name with its own requirements.
- Check that the producer is from Xiushan County.
- The leaf — tight twists, the aroma — of young chestnut, the liquor — yellow-green and bright.

11. Interesting Facts

For 1 jin (500 g) of dry tea, according to the calculation of the Chongqing Intellectual Property Administration, about 50,000 buds are needed — the picker plucks a shoot as many times.
Among the awards, the Chongqing government (2022) names a special gold prize of the “Zhongcha Bei” (中茶杯) competition.
A Chongqing Ribao report (2023) on the website of the Chongqing agricultural commission gives the county’s nickname — “one foot in three provinces” (一脚踏三省).

12. Comparison with Related Teas

Xiushan tea (秀山茶叶, Xiùshān cháyè): A neighboring protected name of the same county — a geographical indication product since 2025. The protection requirements describe a twisted green tea from spring shoots of “a bud and two leaves”, dried in a dryer: thin twists with sharp tips and a yellow-green sheen, a persistent clean aroma, a fresh, brisk taste, a bright yellow-green liquor.
Guzhang Maojian (古丈毛尖): A green tea of Guzhang County in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hunan — also from the Wuling Mountains.
Xinyang Maojian (信阳毛尖): The máojiān of Henan, one of the great green teas of China.
Duyun Maojian (都匀毛尖): The famous máojiān of Guizhou.
Yongchuan Xiuya (永川秀芽): Another well-known green tea of Chongqing.

In Conclusion:

Xiùshān máojiān is a wok-fired green tea of the Wuling Mountains from the southeast of Chongqing: tight twists, an aroma of young chestnut, a yellow-green liquor and a fresh, mellow taste. Behind it stand the largest tea base of the municipality, a certification mark of 2018, a technique recognized as intangible heritage, and a tradition that the sources trace back to the tribute teas of the late imperial era, although they differ in dates and names. The neighboring name 秀山茶叶 is a separate registration of 2025 with other requirements, not a second name of this tea.

Sources

Geographical indication

Full list — on the Sources page