Emerald mountains and lucid waters produce fine teas, and among them, Liubao Tea stands out as a gem of dark teas. In recent years, Wuzhou City has kept in mind the earnest instructions of President Xi Jinping to strengthen and expand the tea industry. Aiming to contribute significantly to Guangxi's goal of a 100 billion yuan tea industry, the city has adopted a comprehensive approach to ensure all necessary elements are in place for the entire industrial chain. Focusing on ecological tea garden construction, technological empowerment in production, and expanding marketing channels, Wuzhou has exerted efforts in multiple directions, adhering to tradition while innovating, promoting the integrated development of the Liubao tea industry and accelerating its high-quality growth. The Liubao tea industry has become a distinctive and advantageous sector in Wuzhou and a pillar industry for rural revitalization that benefits farmers.
In 2025, the total area of tea gardens in Wuzhou surpassed 300,000 mu for the first time, with a comprehensive output value of approximately 20 billion yuan. The public brand “Wuzhou Liubao Tea” was valued at 4.403 billion yuan and ranked in the top 20 most valuable brands for the first time, receiving recognition as the brand with the greatest development potential in 2025.
The Liubao tea industry has entered a new phase of rapid development, but we must still look back, adhere to tradition while innovating, and continue moving forward, infusing more vitality into the future of the Liubao tea industry.
Liubao tea is a specialty industry successfully cultivated through geographical indication product protection in Wuzhou, Guangxi. It flourished during the Tang and Song dynasties and reached its peak during the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the reign of Emperor Jiaqing in the Qing dynasty, it was included among China's twenty-four famous teas. At the end of the 19th century, with the exploitation by Western colonizers and the mining of tin in Malaysia, Liubao tea gained international renown as it accompanied migrant workers from Fujian and Guangdong across the seas due to its unique qualities. By the early Republican era, sales of Liubao tea had significantly increased, entering a period of prosperity. However, from the Anti-Japanese War until a period after the founding of New China, the industry gradually declined. In the early 21st century, driven by the resurgence of Pu'er tea and local government promotion, Liubao tea began its “glorious transformation.” In 2014, as a renowned Chinese dark tea, the crafting technique of Liubao tea was listed in the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects.
The development history and future destiny of Liubao tea are closely intertwined with modern Chinese history and the global economic landscape. Its century-long rise and fall witnessed the twists and turns of China's modern tea industry and the vicissitudes of a century in Chinese history. Archival records held by the Guangxi Commerce Department on improving the initial processing techniques and enhancing the quality grades of Liubao tea, as well as those by the Guangxi Agriculture Department on the production situation and major experiences in tea making, clearly document the struggles and achievements of generations in inheriting and developing the Liubao tea craft. These archives bestow upon us the responsibility to excavate historical treasures and protect our heritage, while also stimulating contemporary reflections on their present-day value.
I. Prosperity and Decline
Liubao tea is named after its origin in Liubao Town, Cangwu County, Wuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. For centuries, Liubao Town has been a producer, processor, and seller of tea, becoming a well-known tea-producing area in the south during the Ming and Qing dynasties. For hundreds of years, Liubao tea has often appeared in medicinal form, with locals using it to treat dysentery, expel dampness, and ward off miasma, a practice that continues to this day.
In the early Qing dynasty, Liubao tea was transported by waterway to Guangdong. Due to its natural properties of relieving summer heat, eliminating dampness, and detoxifying, along with its affordable price, it quickly became popular among the laboring masses in the Guangzhou region. From the reign of Emperor Kangxi onwards, a number of Liubao tea old-established brands emerged in the two Guang provinces.
According to the Cangwu County Gazetteer published in the 36th year (1697) of the Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty: “Tea is produced mostly in Liubao, in the Duoxian district, with a rich flavor that remains unchanged overnight. The tea produced in Changxing Xiatong is called Xiatong tea, known for its excellent color, aroma, and taste.” This refers to the Liubao tea of Cangwu.
In the 22nd year (1757) of the Qianlong era, the Qing court closed customs in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, leaving only the Guangzhou port open for trade. Large quantities of tea were processed and packaged in Guangzhou's Thirteen Factories before being shipped worldwide. According to the Guangxi General Gazetteer, “In Cangwu, the production of Liubao tea is most abundant in Duoxian and Liubao, with Liubao being particularly famous, selling well in cities like Guangzhou, Foshan, Hong Kong, and Macau.” By the Jiaqing era (1796-1820) of the Qing dynasty, Liubao tea became renowned for its “red, thick, aged, and pure” characteristics and its distinctive betel nut fragrance, ranking among the 24 famous teas of the time and being designated as a tribute to the imperial court, gaining fame both domestically and abroad.
Wuzhou is located at the confluence of the Xun River, Gui River, and Xijiang River, with water transport connecting upstream to Nanning, Liuzhou, and Guilin, and downstream to Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. In the 23rd year (1897) of the Guangxu era, the Sino-British Treaty for the Continuation of Negotiations on Burma stipulated that Wuzhou would be opened as a treaty port. On June 4th of the same year, Wuzhou officially opened for foreign trade. Liubao tea from Wuzhou began to be exported to Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia via this golden waterway, earning the name “tea for overseas Chinese.” The water route of the “ancient tea boat path” was already clear by the Ming dynasty, as recorded in the History of the Ming Dynasty. An article published in the China Tea News in 1951 provides a more detailed account: “In the past, merchants set up shops in Heikou Street in the Liubao district of Guangxi to purchase tea… Afterward, the Liubao tea was steamed and packed into baskets, which were then transported by small boats from Heikou Street to Lilu, where they were transferred to larger wooden ships bound for Fengkai. From there, electric boats carried the tea to Guangzhou, and from there it was exported to Hong Kong, Macau… Apart from sales in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, the majority was sold in Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur in Southeast Asia.” In these regions, Liubao tea enjoyed an excellent reputation and widespread popularity.
At the end of the 19th century, with the mining of tin in Malaysia, large numbers of workers from Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi traveled to Southeast Asia, bringing Liubao tea with them. Due to its digestive and anti-diarrheal properties, Liubao tea began to be widely exported to Southeast Asia. As demand grew, large-scale tea trade became inevitable, forming a transportation and sales water route starting from the Liubao tea-producing areas, passing through Wuzhou and Guangzhou, and reaching destinations such as Malaysia and Singapore. Between the late 19th century and the early 20th century, Liubao tea experienced a period of unprecedented prosperity, selling well both domestically and internationally. Until the mid-1970s, Liubao tea remained dominant in the Hong Kong market, accumulating substantial foreign exchange reserves for the country and serving as a significant source of income for local farmers in Liubao.
After the start of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Guangzhou and Hong Kong fell between 1938 and 1941, completely blocking the waterway for Liubao tea, causing a sharp decline in sales. Many tea farmers could no longer sustain their livelihoods and turned to other means of income. Following the occupation of Southeast Asian markets by Japanese forces, exports of Liubao tea were largely cut off, and many tea gardens became neglected. The Liubao tea industry suffered a severe blow and stagnated at a very low level until the founding of New China in 1949.
II. Reform and Transformation