Bingdao's Five Villages: Old Village, Dijie, Nuowu, Bawai, Nanpo
When tea drinkers say "Bingdao," they sometimes mean one village, sometimes an administrative village, and sometimes loosely the whole of Mengku. The same name can cover very different areas, and prices differ accordingly. Once you've got Bingdao's five villages straight, you'll have a map in your head when choosing Bingdao tea.
Which Are Bingdao's Five Villages?
Bingdao Village is in the north of Mengku Town, Shuangjiang County, Lincang City, Yunnan, about 25 kilometers from the town, with a total area of about 33.6 square kilometers. Bingdao Village is an administrative village (village committee) with five natural villages under it, each with its own villager group; tea drinkers call them together "Bingdao's five villages":
- Bingdao Old Village (Laozhai)
- Dijie
- Nanpo
- Bawai
- Nuowu
Bingdao Village as a whole stretches from about 1,400 meters up to about 2,500 meters. The village has about 18,000 mu of tea in total, of which about 2,000 mu are ancient gardens; in other words, most of the tea in the five villages actually comes from ordinary gardens, and ancient trees make up only a small part.
Locations and Altitudes of the Five Villages
Mengku Town has a "two mountains flanking a river" layout, with the Nanmeng River flowing north to south; tea drinkers use the river as the dividing line, calling the mountains on either side the West Half-Mountain and the East Half-Mountain. Bingdao Village sits right on the upper Nanmeng, at the northernmost end of Mengku, and its five villages are split between the two banks:
| Village | Location | Altitude and ethnicity (common accounts in the tea world) |
|---|---|---|
| Bingdao Old Village | West Half-Mountain, the core of the five | Lahu, Dai, and Han living together; 74 households and 272 people per a 2024 report |
| Dijie | West Half-Mountain, south of the Old Village, near the forest of Daxueshan | One account says 1,850–2,000 m, often said to be the highest overall of the five; mainly Lahu |
| Nanpo | West Half-Mountain, in the deep mountains northwest of the Old Village | One account says 1,800–2,000 m; mainly Lahu |
| Bawai | East of the Nanmeng River, on the East Half-Mountain | Lahu and Han living together; altitude figures vary widely by source |
| Nuowu | East of the Nanmeng River, on the East Half-Mountain | A Lahu village; altitude figures vary widely by source |
Exact altitudes for each village often contradict one another in merchants' materials; the same village might be given as 1,500 meters by one and 1,900 by another, because a village's gardens naturally run from the valley up the mountainside. What's more reliable is their relative positions: the Old Village, Dijie, and Nanpo are on the West Half-Mountain, while Bawai and Nuowu are east of the river.
Why the Old Village Is Special
Bingdao Old Village has two things the other villages can't match:
- History: The most widely told local account is that in the 21st year of Chenghua in the Ming dynasty (1485), the Dai tusi (hereditary chieftain) who ruled the Mengmeng area sent people to bring back tea seeds from Xishuangbanna and planted them in Bingdao, with more than 150 surviving. These trees are regarded as an important source of Mengku large-leaf tea. Some sources give 1478.
- Geographical indication: In early 2025, "Bingdao Old Village tea (Bingdao Zhengshan tea)" was recognized as a national geographical indication protected product, with protection limited to the natural village of Bingdao Old Village. Reports mention more than a thousand surviving ancient trees over 100 years old in the Old Village.
The Old Village's ancient trees mostly grow right in front of and behind the houses, cheek by jowl with people's homes. There are only so many trees and only one spring season, so the bigger the name, the wider the gap between supply and demand.
Why Prices Differ So Much Among the Five Villages
Though all are called Bingdao, Old Village tea can cost several times as much as tea from the other four, for roughly these reasons:
- Fame and story: The 1485 planting story, the geographical indication, and media coverage are almost all focused on the Old Village.
- Number of ancient trees: The Old Village's ancient trees are dense; the other villages' are more scattered, with a higher share of ordinary large trees and terrace tea.
- Output: The Old Village's ancient-tree spring tea comes in tiny quantities, yet demand for it is greatest.
- Flavor reputation: The tea world generally holds the Old Village's sweetness, texture, and harmony in the highest regard. Dijie, Nanpo, Bawai, and Nuowu each have their fans: some like Dijie's thickness, Nanpo's fragrance, Nuowu's softness, or Bawai's strength. But these village-by-village descriptions mostly come from merchants' experience, and differences between individual batches are often bigger than differences between villages.
So the four villages' teas aren't "second-rate Bingdao"; they're tea from the same administrative village under different conditions, more affordable than the Old Village, and a great way into the Bingdao style. What goes into the price is covered in What Determines the Price of Pu'er.
How Big an Area Can a "Bingdao" Label Mean?
"Bingdao" on the market is used in roughly four ways, from narrowest to broadest:
- Bingdao Old Village: Only the natural village of the Old Village, which is also the area of the 2025 "Bingdao Old Village tea" geographical indication.
- Bingdao's five villages: The five natural villages under the Bingdao village committee; the meaning tea drinkers use most.
- The area around Bingdao Village: Sometimes tea from nearby villages is also called "Bingdao" or "Bingdao-style."
- The Bingdao style: Using the name purely as a flavor description; the raw material may come from other Mengku villages or even somewhere else entirely.
Mountain names are usually written into the product name, and practices vary; other things worth checking on packaging are in Packaging Labels in Taiwan. When you see "Bingdao," you can ask three things: which village, what tree age, which season. Ways of judging origin are in Is That Mountain Real?.
Guyuntang's Bingdao Old Village Dragon Pearls are labeled "Bingdao Old Village" in the product name; they're raw pu'er pearls of 8 grams each, 10 to a bag. Bingdao Old Village's geography and flavor are covered in Bingdao Old Village: The Sweetness of Mengku.
FAQ
Q: Which are Bingdao's five villages?
A: The five natural villages under the Bingdao village committee: Bingdao Old Village, Dijie, Nanpo, Bawai, and Nuowu.
Q: Which of Bingdao's five villages is highest?
A: Altitude figures vary widely among sources. The tea world often says Dijie is the highest overall, at 1,850–2,000 meters by one account; Bingdao Village as a whole ranges from about 1,400 to about 2,500 meters.
Q: Does tea from Bawai and Nuowu count as Bingdao?
A: Both belong to Bingdao Village and are often called Bingdao tea; however, the 2025 geographical indication protected product "Bingdao Old Village tea" covers only Bingdao Old Village.
Q: Why is Bingdao Old Village so expensive?
A: The Old Village has the history of the 1485 planting, dense ancient trees, and a geographical indication; its spring tea is scarce and demand is high, so it costs far more than the other four villages.