Bangwai Ancient Tea Garden of Wuliang Mountain in Jinping Town of Jingdong County, Puer

Location

Bangwai Village is situated approximately 20 km from Jinping Town in Jingdong County, within the Wuliang Mountain ranges. There are three different Bangwai Villages in Puer:

• Bangwai Village in Lancang County (普洱市澜沧拉祜族自治县富东乡邦崴村)
• Bangwai Village of Fudong Town in Jingdong County (普洱市景东县文龙乡邦崴村)
• Bangwai Village of Jinping Town in Jingdong County (景东县锦屏镇邦崴村)

The ancient tea trees are found in all these villages.

Geographical Features

Bangwai Village, Lancang County: Located in the northern part of Lancang County, Yunnan Province, on the banks of the Lancang River, which borders the counties of Shuangjiang and Jinggu. Historically, Bangwai was one of the six major tea mountains producing Pu’er tea during the Qing Dynasty. The region has an average annual temperature of 16.8°C, abundant sunshine, and a mild climate, with summers that are not too hot and winters that are not too cold, creating ideal conditions for high-quality tea cultivation.

Tea Production

Bangwai Village: The village has 730 households with a population of 2,794, predominantly Han and Lahu ethnic groups. The ancient tea trees are mainly distributed around villages, with both large-scale and scattered cultivation. The tea trees are primarily of the large-leaf variety used for Pu’er tea.

• Tea Fields: The village has over 6,200 acres of tea fields, with more than 1,650 acres dedicated to ancient tea trees. There are over 100,000 ancient tea trees, with 2,286 trees having a trunk diameter of over 20 cm and ages exceeding 500 years. Some trees can be sold for over 10,000 RMB each, and a single tree from Bangwai II, known as “Tea King,” has an annual output value of over 80,000 RMB.

World-Noted Ancient Tea Tree

On April 8, 1997, the China National Postal Service issued a set of 4 stamps featuring tea, with the first stamp depicting the ancient tea tree of Bangwai. This stamp ended a century-long dispute over the origin of tea trees, confirming that the original tea tree is in Yunnan, China, specifically in Bangwai.

• Tree Characteristics: The Bangwai ancient tea tree is a large, tree-like tea plant with a height of 11.8 meters, a canopy spread of 8.2 x 9 meters, and a maximum trunk circumference of 358 cm. It is regarded as a “living fossil” in tea tree evolution.

Physical Features of Ancient Tea Trees

• Tree Type: The Bangwai ancient tea tree is a large, upright tree with dense branches. The tree is 11.8 meters tall with a spread of 8.2 x 9 meters. The trunk diameter at the base is 1.14 meters, and the lowest branches are 70 cm high. It has three first-level branches and 13 second-level branches.
• Leaves: The average leaf length is 13.3 cm and width is 5.3 cm. The leaves are elongated oval, with pointed tips, slightly wavy edges, and a glossy surface. They are thick and soft with fine, shallow serrations. The leaves have 7-12 pairs of veins and are covered with fine hairs. The buds and young shoots are yellow-green, with internodes averaging 3.7 cm in length.
• Flowers and Fruits: The flowers are relatively large with an average diameter of 4.6 x 4.3 mm, green with no hair on the outside but hairy on the inside. The flower stalk averages 1.37 cm in length, with 2-3 stipules. The fruit is round or kidney-shaped, with a green skin covered in fine hairs and a pit with a dimpled round mark.

Antifreeze and Hardiness: The tea trees are resilient and have not experienced frost damage or early cold weather issues.