Kunlushan: Ning'er's Imperial Ancient Tea Garden

Set out from Ning'er, the seat of Qing dynasty Pu'er Prefecture, follow mountain roads for about 31 kilometers, and you'll reach Kunlushan (困鹿山). It's an unassuming mountain, yet locals call it the "imperial ancient tea garden," and its large-, medium-, and small-leaf tea trees grow mixed together like a living museum of tea trees.

Where Is Kunlushan?

Kunlushan is in Ning'er Town, Ning'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County, Pu'er City, Yunnan. Its ancient gardens are spread across the villages of Kuanhong, Xisa, and Qiangang, with the core in Kuanhong Village, about 31 kilometers from the county town. The mountains are a southern offshoot of the Wuliang range, with layered peaks and dense forest.

"Kunlu" is generally thought to be a transliteration from Dai; one explanation is "a mountain hollow full of birds." The whole mountain area lies at about 1,400–2,200 meters; one account puts the concentration of cultivated ancient trees at around 1,640 meters, another at around 1,900 meters, as different records measure at different spots.

Ning'er is where Pu'er Prefecture used to be seated, and it was called Pu'er County until 2007. An overview of Pu'er City's counties is in The Pu'er City Tea Region.

Why Is Kunlushan Called the Imperial Ancient Tea Garden?

"Imperial ancient tea garden" is a long-standing local description, rooted in the Qing tribute tea system:

• In 1729 (the seventh year of Yongzheng), the court established Pu'er Prefecture, and that same year began receiving pu'er as tribute; the prefectural seat was today's Ning'er, not far from Kunlushan;
• Local accounts say that every spring tea season, officials were stationed in Kuanhong Village to supervise picking and processing, and the finished golden melon tribute tea, ball tea, and tea bricks were then sent to the capital;
• The Ning'er area also preserves the "Pu'er Tribute Tea Making Technique," and its tradition bearer Li Xingchang, a Ning'er native, is listed as a national-level representative bearer of intangible cultural heritage.

Palace archives don't record item by item "which garden" supplied tribute tea, so "imperial ancient tea garden" is best understood as a local tradition and a common account in the tea world: Kunlushan was close to the prefectural seat and had good tea, so it's thought to have been one of the sources of tribute tea material. In 2013, the Kunlushan ancient garden was listed as a Pu'er City-level protected cultural relic. The history of tribute tea is in Imperial Tribute Pu'er in the Qing Dynasty, and what a golden melon looks like is in Golden Melon Tribute Tea.

Does Kunlushan Have Large-, Medium-, and Small-Leaf Varieties?

Yes, and that's exactly what makes Kunlushan special.

Most of Yunnan's ancient gardens are dominated by large-leaf varieties, but Kunlushan has large-leaf, medium-leaf, and medium-small-leaf tea trees growing side by side, with wild, transitional, and cultivated types all present. Two trees on the mountain are often compared by tea drinkers: one with broad leaves and a powerful form, called the "Large-Leaf Tea King," and one with long, slender leaves and a tall, graceful form, called the "Fine-Leaf Empress."

This mixed growth makes Kunlushan a great place to observe tea tree evolution, and some in the tea world call it a natural museum of ancient tea trees. The cultivated ancient trees are mostly estimated at over 400 years old, and the largest has a base girth of about 197 centimeters. For how tree age is estimated, read How to Estimate the Age of an Ancient Tea Tree; for how leaf sizes are classified, read Large-, Medium-, and Small-Leaf Varieties.

The Scale of Kunlushan's Gardens

Kunlushan's ancient tea tree communities cover a broad area, including stretches of wild ancient tea forest as well as transitional and cultivated ancient tea forest and terrace gardens. The truly dense cultivated ancient gardens are concentrated in Kuanhong Village, covering roughly 1,900 mu (about 130 hectares), with ancient trees growing mixed with broadleaf forest, shady and humid underneath.

The gardens where ancient trees are concentrated aren't large and output is limited, yet plenty of tea on the market carries the "Kunlushan" name, so when choosing, ask whether it's ancient tree or terrace tea and which village the material comes from; methods are in How to Verify a Mountain Origin.

The Style of Kunlushan Tea

Because of the mixed varieties, Kunlushan maocha often shows leaves of varying sizes. The tea world commonly describes it as:

• Appearance: Tightly twisted leaves, sometimes mixed with medium and small leaves, with downy buds;
• Aroma: Delicate, with floral and honey notes, not the loud, lifting type;
• Taste: A soft, smooth liquor, high sweetness, very light bitterness and astringency, with huigan and a lingering fragrance;
• Liquor color: Young tea is bright yellow and clear.

The overall impression is fine, soft, and sweet, very different from the strong Menghai style and somewhat closer to Yiwu's softness. For people who don't like bitterness and astringency and want a delicate liquor, Kunlushan is a great introductory mountain.

How to Brew Kunlushan

Kunlushan tea is delicate, so neither temperature nor time needs to be aggressive:

• 6–7 grams in a 110 ml gaiwan;
• Water at 90–95°C, pouring off the first 3 infusions after about 10 seconds;
• In later infusions add 5–10 seconds each, and the sweetness carries on all the way.

FAQ

Q: Where is Kunlushan?
A: In the Kuanhong Village area of Ning'er Town, Ning'er County, Pu'er City, Yunnan, about 31 kilometers from the county town, on a southern offshoot of the Wuliang range.

Q: Why is Kunlushan called the imperial ancient tea garden?
A: Kunlushan is close to the seat of Qing Pu'er Prefecture, and local legend says officials were stationed in the village during the spring tea season to supervise the making of tribute tea, so it's regarded as one of the sources of tribute tea material. This is a local tradition and a common account in the tea world.

Q: Does Kunlushan really have small-leaf varieties?
A: Yes. Kunlushan has large-, medium-, and medium-small-leaf tea trees growing together, with wild, transitional, and cultivated types, and is called a natural museum of ancient tea trees.

Q: What does Kunlushan tea taste like?
A: A delicate aroma with floral-honey notes, a soft, smooth liquor, high sweetness, light bitterness and astringency, and a huigan with lingering fragrance: a fine, soft style of raw pu'er.