Basic Introduction to Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea
Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea, a Chinese Geographical Indication product (agricultural product geographical indication) from Pingshan County, Sichuan Province. The tea-growing area is characterized by typical vertical climate, with warm winters and cool summers, low temperatures and humidity, foggy conditions, and large diurnal temperature differences. This makes it an ideal location for “Sichuan's High-Quality Green Tea Production Base,” “Sichuan's First Batch of High-Quality Tea Production Bases,” and “Sichuan's Export Tea Production Demonstration Base.” These conditions increase the effective accumulation in tea plants and enrich the internal substances of the leaves, resulting in the special quality of Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea, which is known for its “intense chestnut aroma, rich taste, and excellent durability when steeped.” It has won the Gold Award at the Sichuan Ba-Shu Food Festival and the Gold Award at the Asia-Pacific Food Expo, and is widely popular both within and outside the province.
Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea is produced within the jurisdiction of Pingshan County, Sichuan Province, at elevations ranging from 600 to 1,000 meters. The county is traversed by the residual ridges of Xiaoliang Mountain (1,350 meters) and Laojun Mountain (2,009 meters), the highest peak in southern Sichuan. The 40,000 acres of virgin forest form a natural barrier. The soil consists mainly of mountain yellow loam and some purple soil, with organic matter content exceeding 3% in 13.36% of the soil. Over 70% of the soil is acidic or slightly acidic, with a pH value between 5.5 and 6.5, making it particularly suitable for tea cultivation. It is a natural base for pollution-free tea gardens and organic tea production.
Geographical Scope
The production area of Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea encompasses the current administrative region of Pingshan County, Sichuan Province.
Product Characteristics
Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea boasts excellent natural quality and exquisite processing techniques, resulting in a unique style characterized by “a high and refreshing chestnut aroma, a smooth and durable taste, a green infusion, and fresh leaf bases.” It has always been highly regarded by all sectors of society. According to the expert panel evaluating the tea, Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea has a tight and glossy appearance, a long-lasting chestnut fragrance, a fresh and sweet aftertaste that endures through multiple infusions, a bright yellow-green infusion, and uniformly bright yellow-green leaf bases.
Historical and Folklore
The history of tea cultivation in Pingshan can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. According to “The Chronicles of Huayang,” as early as the third year of Yangjia in the Eastern Han Dynasty (134 AD), people in Pingshan knew how to utilize wild tea, and later began to plant tea. The local history of tea production spans nearly two millennia.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Pingshan already produced tea.
In the Song Dynasty, the court traded salt and tea for warhorses from the Western Regions to defend the borders. The “tea-horse trade” was thriving in Yibin, and Pingshan's unique geographic location made it a crucial route for Sichuanese tea entering Tibet.
The art of tea-making in Pingshan was passed down from generation to generation. By the Ming Dynasty, after long-term exploration and refinement, the stir-frying technique became increasingly sophisticated, and there emerged the saying of “the three mountain teas” (E'mei Mountain, Mengding Mountain, and Pingshan). Pingshan was formerly known as Pingyi County and Malu Prefecture. According to “The Annals of Malu Prefecture” compiled during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, “Pingyi County produces tea…”
During the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, Long Ruitu, then a Zizheng Daifu (official title), recognized the distinctiveness of his hometown's stir-fried green tea and transported tea from home to Beijing as tribute. After tasting it, Emperor Daoguang praised it highly, and it subsequently became a tea used in the imperial palace. Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea was sold far and wide, gaining fame, and Long Ruitu built a landlord's manor – the provincial cultural relic protection unit, the Long Family Villa, in the local area.
In the first edition of “Cihai” (Dictionary of China), published during the Republic of China, under local famous products, it notes “the specialty ‘Pingshan Tea'…”
“Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea” is recorded with illustrations in “The Annals of Pingshan County.”
In the 1960s, under government guidance and support, the mass tea production process in Pingshan was changed to using a red-hot wok for killing the green, mechanical rolling, baking, and drying (high-grade teas were still handcrafted). Great attention was paid to fire control in the processing technique, and the low-temperature long stir-frying formed the characteristic of “durable and sweet aftertaste, high and long-lasting chestnut aroma,” significantly improving the yield and quality of the tea. Following this, the tea industry in Pingshan entered a period of rapid development.
Awards and Honors
“Shuizhongyun” brand Pingshan pre-Qingming tea and “Longhu Green” Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea won first prizes in the first National Drink Cup tea competition. “Shuizhongyun” tea also won the Grand Prize at the Seventh “Zhongcha Cup” and the Ninth “Emei Cup” for famous teas.
Since 1984, Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea has consecutively won the title of Sichuan's High-Quality Green Tea for twelve sessions and served as the original tea for the preparation of Sichuan stir-fried green tea standards.
In 2007, the research and application of standardized technology for producing Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea won the Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the Yibin Municipal Government.
In 2010, the assessed brand value of Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea was 170 million RMB, ranking 71st nationally.
In 2011, the ranking of Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea brand value rose by 13 places, with the brand value soaring by 158% to 438 million RMB, placing it 58th nationally.
On December 26, 2011, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for “Pingshan Stir-Fried Green Tea.”