---
title: "Zhènkāng Mǎ'ānshān chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/zhenkang-ma-anshan-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Zhènkāng Mǎ'ānshān chá (镇康马鞍山茶)

*Zhènkāng Mǎ'ānshān chá* (镇康马鞍山茶) is the tea of the old gardens of Ma'anshan village (马鞍山村), Mangbing Township (忙丙乡), Zhenkang County (镇康县), Lincang prefecture-level city, Yunnan Province. The mountain got its name for its resemblance to a saddle. The gardens here are neither wild nor ancient: according to descriptions, in 1913 the large-leaf Mengku variety was brought to the village from neighboring Shuangjiang, and the old trees are about a hundred years old. Together with neighboring Yanzitou and Jianshan, Ma'anshan forms almost twenty thousand mu of continuous cultivated old gardens — an expanse rare for the prefecture. Ma'anshan is the first old-tree tea in Lincang to receive a geographical indication certification mark; later it entered the national catalog “名特优新”. The product class is not fixed by the mark.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Not fixed by the mark document. The description of the village lists its produce as sun-dried raw material ([晒青](https://thetea.app/article/shai-qing)茶, *shàiqīngchá*), that is, raw material of the pu-erh type.
* **Category:** Tea of the cultivated old gardens of Lincang; geographical indication certification mark; national catalog “名特优新” (third edition).
* **Origin:** China, Yunnan Province (云南, *Yúnnán*), Lincang prefecture-level city ([临沧](https://thetea.app/article/lincang), *Líncāng*), Zhenkang County (镇康县, *Zhènkāng Xiàn*), Mangbing Township (忙丙乡, *Mángbǐng Xiāng*), Ma'anshan village.
* **Protection zone:** The provincial list gives Zhenkang County as the administrative affiliation of the mark holder; I have not checked the legal boundary of the zone.
* **Geographic coordinates:** Mangbing Township — about 23.9° N and 99.2° E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **1913.** According to descriptions, the Mengku large-leaf variety (勐库大[叶种](https://thetea.app/article/qiaomuguanmu)) was brought to Ma'anshan from Shuangjiang County. The trees of the local old gardens are reportedly the same age as the gardens of Mangfei village (忙肺) in neighboring Yongde County; the age of the old trees is about a hundred years.
    * **2019.** “镇康马鞍山茶” is on the provincial list of geographical indication marks of Yunnan as of 28 December 2019.
    * **First in Lincang.** Press reports from 2024 call Ma'anshan the first old-tree tea in Lincang prefecture to receive a state geographical indication certification mark.
    * **“名特优新”.** The tea entered the third edition of the national catalog of famous, special, high-quality and new agricultural products.
    * **2024.** In April “镇康马鞍山茶” was presented in Beijing, at the National Agricultural Exhibition Center, at a showcase of spring teas with geographical indications; according to the news service of China Agricultural University, it was the only tea brand from Yunnan Province.
    * The number of the mark, the holder and the year of registration are not found in the sources consulted.
* **Name:**
    * “Zhenkang” (镇康) is the name of the county.
    * “Ma'an” (马鞍) means “saddle”; “shan” (山) means “mountain”. The mountain was named for its shape, which resembles a saddle.
* **Cultural significance:** A local saying places Ma'anshan tea next to ashuse (阿数瑟): Zhenkang tea is fragrant, and the best of it grows on Ma'anshan; nothing is more pleasant to the ear than ashuse, and nothing is more delicious than tea from Ma'anshan (镇康茶叶香又香，好茶种在马鞍山，好听不过阿数瑟，好喝不过鞍山茶). In a county where, according to the description, two thirds of the 76,000 mu of gardens are old, it was Ma'anshan that first received a mark for old-tree tea.

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

* **Variety / Cultivar:** Mengku large-leaf (勐库大叶种, *Měngkù dàyèzhǒng*), brought in 1913.
* **Tree:** According to the description, the crown is spreading and the growth vigorous. The leaf is elliptic, folded inward, held horizontally, green, with a bulging surface, soft, with a slightly wavy edge. The buds are green, large and densely pubescent; there are many shoots, and they stay tender for a long time, so the leaf is easy to pick.
* **Raw material:** Leaf of cultivated old trees about a hundred years old.
* **Harvest and harvest standard:** Not given in the sources consulted.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The west of Lincang prefecture, the mountains of Zhenkang County.
* **Growing altitude:** On average about **1400 m**, according to the description of the village.
* **Climate:** According to the description of the village, an average annual temperature of about **18 °C**, precipitation of about **1560 mm** a year, about 2500 hours of sunshine a year, relative humidity of about 85%.
* **Soils:** According to the same description, pH **5.6–6.5**.
* **Area (according to the description of the village, 2017):** Tea gardens — 5020 mu, of which old ones — 3500 mu (about 230 ha); the core is the Dabaobao plot (大包包茶地), 380 mu. Together with neighboring Yanzitou (岩子头) and Jianshan (尖山) — almost 20,000 mu of continuous cultivated old gardens, according to 2024 press reports.
* **Residents:** According to the description, Han and Wa people live in the village.

**5. Production Technology:**

I have not seen the technology in the documents of the mark. The description of the village lists its produce as sun-dried raw material (晒青茶). For such raw material the usual sequence is as follows:

1.  **Light withering (摊晾, *tānliàng*):** The fresh leaf is spread in a thin layer.
2.  **Fixation (杀青, *shāqīng*):** The leaf is heated in a pan to stop oxidation.
3.  **Rolling (揉捻, *róuniǎn*).**
4.  **Sun drying (晒干, *shàigān*).**

This is the general scheme of the class, not a description of the technology of Ma'anshan tea.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

The descriptions below come from essays about the village and from the press, not from the mark document; the product class is not named in them.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** No descriptions in the sources consulted.
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No descriptions in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** Lasting, rich and high (香气持久馥郁高扬), with a clean fresh note (清香).
* **Taste:** Full and harmonious, rich and fresh, sweet and smooth; the bitterness is light, the astringency weak; saliva rises under the tongue, in the throat there is a long sweetness, and the sweet return lasts a long time. An essay also describes the first impression: at the first sip the tea seems simple, and then a cool tea taste fills the whole mouth.
* **Liquor color:** Clear, deep yellow and bright (汤色清澈黄浓明亮).
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** No descriptions in the sources consulted.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

An analysis of the raw material, which the description of the village attributes to a tea research institute (one bud with two leaves, the sample fixed with steam):

* **Tea polyphenols:** **30.19%**.
* **Catechins (total):** **134.19 mg/g**.
* **Amino acids:** **2.90%**.
* **Caffeine:** **3.56%**.
* **Water-soluble substances:** **45.83%**.

This is a characteristic of a raw material sample, not of finished tea.

**8. Health Properties:**

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

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice. The product class is not fixed by the mark; below are guidelines for sun-dried raw material and sheng pu-erh.

* **Water temperature:** 90–100 °C.
* **Tea amount:** 5–7 g per 100–120 ml.
* **Teaware:** A gaiwan or a small clay teapot.
* **Process:**
    1. Warm the teaware.
    2. Put in the tea.
    3. Briefly rinse the leaf with hot water and pour it off.
    4. The first infusions — 10–20 seconds.
    5. Pour into a chahai, then into the cups.
    6. Repeat infusions, gradually adding time.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice for sheng pu-erh. In a dry, clean place without light or foreign odors, in tight but not airtight packaging, without sharp swings in humidity. Sheng pu-erh allows aging.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

* **Prices:** According to the description of the village, in spring 2014 the tea sold for 100–200 yuan per kilogram. Press reports from spring 2024 give a price for fresh leaf of about 120 yuan per kilogram. Current prices for finished tea are not found in the sources consulted.
* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for the mark “镇康马鞍山茶”.
    * Check that the producer is from Zhenkang County.
    * The leaf of old trees is large, with densely pubescent buds; small plantation leaf is not the same product.
    * The name of the village on the packaging does not by itself prove the origin: the neighboring old gardens give similar raw material.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The mountain is named for its resemblance to a saddle.
* The gardens of Ma'anshan are not wild: the Mengku variety was brought here in 1913, and the old trees are about a hundred years old.
* This is the first old-tree tea in Lincang with a state certification mark.
* In 2024, at the Beijing presentation, Ma'anshan was the only tea brand from Yunnan.

**13. Comparison with Neighboring Teas:**

* **Yongde ([永德](https://thetea.app/article/yong-de)):** The tea of the neighboring county; the old gardens of Mangfei village, according to descriptions, were planted at the same time as those of Ma'anshan.
* **Bingdao ([冰岛](https://thetea.app/article/bing-dao)):** A village in Mengku to which the history of the large-leaf variety brought to Ma'anshan is traced.
* **Mengku Dayezhong Cha ([勐库大叶种茶](https://thetea.app/article/mengku-dayezhong-cha)):** A geographical indication for the variety itself in Shuangjiang County.
* **Lincang (临沧):** An overview of the prefecture to which Zhenkang belongs.

**In Conclusion:**

Zhenkang Ma'anshan Cha is the tea of century-old cultivated gardens, not of an ancient forest: trees of the Mengku variety, brought in 1913, grow on a saddle-shaped mountain at an altitude of about 1400 m, in an expanse of almost twenty thousand mu together with its neighbors. The mark does not fix the class; essays about the village write of a lasting high aroma, a clear yellow liquor, light bitterness and a long sweet return.