Xishuangbanna is renowned both at home and abroad as the birthplace of Pu'er Tea, recognized worldwide as the origin of tea trees, the birthplace of Pu'er tea, and the source of the ancient Tea Horse Road. The rich and mellow Pu'er tea not only nurtures the various ethnic groups in Xishuangbanna but also crosses oceans to become a splendid calling card for China's external exchanges. The “Learning Power” Xishuangbanna Learning Platform, in collaboration with the Xishuangbanna Prefectural Committee Party History Research Office, presents a series on “The Origins and Development of Xishuangbanna Pu'er Tea.” We invite you to learn about the history and stories of Xishuangbanna Pu'er tea and the current state of its tea industry, together savoring the taste of Pu'er tea.

Buluo (Youle) Mountain, also known as Jino Mountain, is located to the east of Jinghong City in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It is the habitat of the 56th officially recognized ethnic group in China—the Jino people. The Buluo (Youle) tea mountain lies within Jino Township, across the Buyuan River (Little Black River) from the Gading, Mangzhi, and Kongming mountains. It is one of the historically famous ancient “Six Great Tea Mountains” of Pu'er tea and the center of production for Yunnan large-leaf tea. The tea planting history of Buluo (Youle) tea mountain is quite long, with extensive tea gardens. By the late Qing Dynasty, the tea plantation area reached around ten thousand mu. Historically, Buluo (Youle) tea mountain once rose to the top of the “Six Great Tea Mountains.” During the early Qing Dynasty, Buluo was already a well-known Pu'er tea producing area. At its peak, Longpa Village (now Yanuo Village) set up a tea factory which served as the center for Tea processing. Today, Longpa remains the village with the richest resources of ancient tea trees and the highest yield of ancient tea trees on Buluo (Youle) Mountain, being a major tea-producing village.

The history of tea cultivation, processing, and trade on Buluo (Youle) tea mountain is extensive. In the seventh year of the Yongzheng era (1729), General Governor Ertai of Yunnan and Guizhou submitted a petition to the imperial court to establish the Pu'er Prefecture and set up a general tea store in Simao. That same year, due to Buluo (Youle) tea mountain being “the throat of Che'er tea mountain,” with a very special geographical location, and being a significant tea-producing area, a sub-prefect of the Pu'er Prefecture was established here, historically referred to as the “Buluo (Youle) Sub-Prefect.” A sub-prefect and a right camp captain were appointed, along with a garrison of five hundred military officials. They were mainly responsible for maintaining social order in the region of the six great tea mountains of Xishuangbanna, supervising the production and distribution of Pu'er tea, and procuring tribute tea. Due to various reasons, the Buluo (Youle) Sub-Prefect was abolished in the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng era (1735), with the sub-prefect moved to Simao, and the tribute tea was supervised by the Assistant Chief of Yibang. The establishment of the “Buluo (Youle) Sub-Prefect” and Pu'er tea becoming a tribute tea sufficiently demonstrate the history and status of Pu'er tea in Jino Mountain, reflecting the prosperous situation of tea production on Buluo (Youle) tea mountain. Records show that by the Daoguang era, tea from Buluo (Youle) Mountain had been exported to India and Europe. In his 1886 book, “Guizhou and Yunnan Provinces,” the British author Clarke wrote that the East India Company had Chinese Tea agents in Darjeeling and Calcutta managing tea from Yibang and Buluo (Youle).

Buluo (Youle) did not have tea shops; multiple villages such as Citsong, Bapo, Longpa, Balai, Shizui, Manya, and others produced tea. Part of the tea from Buluo (Youle) Mountain was sold to merchants in Simao and Pu'er, while part was sold to tea merchants in Yibang and Yiwu for making seven-son cakes. However, the people of Buluo (Youle) made bamboo tube tea and tea paste. Their tea paste was dark and lustrous, used internally to treat cholera, hiccups, colds, and coughs, and externally to reduce swelling and dissolve pus. The slow social development of Buluo (Youle) Mountain and the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan led to a decline in the tea industry of the Six Great Tea Mountains. The Buluo (Youle) people, who lived primarily by hunting and selling tea, became even poorer. In 1941, under the heavy burden of conscription and oppressive taxation, an uprising against Nationalist and local ruler rule broke out in Buluo (Youle) Mountain among the Jino people. Two years of warfare severely damaged the economy and society of Buluo (Youle) Mountain, causing many Jino people to flee their homes, reducing the population and leaving many tea gardens abandoned, drastically decreasing tea production. Later, due to continuous slash-and-burn farming for grain cultivation, many tea gardens were destroyed. By the 1970s, only about three thousand mu of ancient tea gardens remained. The ancient tea gardens of Buluo (Youle) are mainly scattered around Yanuo Village, with the most concentrated in Longpa Mountain. Additionally, there are old tea trees distributed in Situ Old Village, Luote Old Village, Meizhuo, and Bapia, many of which are several hundred-year-old tea trees. The tea species are mostly large-leaf varieties, occasionally mixed with small-leaf varieties. Buluo (Youle) tea belongs to the large-leaf tree variety, with tightly compacted, glossy leaves showing silver tips. It is bitter and astringent, with a quick return to sweetness, good salivation, fragrant, generally mild and smooth, and relatively bright.

After the 1980s, Jino Mountain began to revitalize its tea industry, with newly planted tea gardens covering 10,000 mu, and the remaining ancient tea gardens were given attention and protection. The age of the ancient tea trees exceeds 300 years, most of them growing under tall trees, enjoying superior ecological conditions, producing high-quality tea leaves. However, the trees are aged, resulting in low yields.