Mansa, Zhangjiawan, and Yishanmo

Open Qing dynasty records and among the Six Ancient Tea Mountains you'll find one called "Mansa" (慢撒), today usually written 曼撒, 漫撒, or 曼灑. It flourished earlier than Yiwu, then declined, and Yiwu took over its place. Today you won't find an administrative village called "Mansa" on the map, but its tea gardens are still there, and recently prominent names like Zhangjiawan, Dingjiazhai, Yishanmo, and Wangong all lie within the old Mansa tea mountain.

Where Is the Mansa Tea Mountain Today?

In the Dianhai Yuheng Zhi (Records of the Natural History of Yunnan), completed by Tan Cui of the Qing dynasty in 1799, the Six Tea Mountains listed are Youle, Gedeng, Yibang, Mangzhi, Manzhuan, and Mansa. That Mansa is in the north of today's Yiwu Town.

In terms of today's administrative areas, the old Mansa tea mountain roughly corresponds to the area of the Manla village committee of Yiwu Town. The Manla village committee is about 30 kilometers from Yiwu town, bordering Laos to the east, Xiangming Township to the west, and Jiangcheng County to the north, and comprises 22 villager groups including Daba, Zhangjiawan, Dingjiazhai, and Mengluo. Several sections of the Mengla stretch of the Tea Horse Road, such as the Lao Mansa Village section, the Daqishu to Lao Mansa section, and the Mansa Jiujia Xiashuijing section, still carry "Mansa" in their names, and these sections are listed as Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.

Local elders say that in Dai, "man" means village and "la" means tea, so "Manla" is the village of tea. The Mansa and Manla tea mountains are separated by just one mountain, and crossing the mountains farther east brings you into Laos, where tea trees also grow on the side facing China.

What Is the Relationship Between Mansa and Yiwu?

Simply put, Mansa is Yiwu's predecessor, and also part of today's "greater Yiwu" tea area.

In the early Qing, Mansa was one of the busiest of the Six Tea Mountains for both production and trade; one account says that before the Xianfeng reign, Wangong was a large village of more than 400 households. Mansa later declined gradually, though accounts of why differ: some say war, some say an epidemic following an ethnic conflict scattered the population, and others believe that after the Daoguang reign, tea processing and merchant houses became increasingly concentrated in Yiwu, so the center of trade naturally shifted. The result was that Yiwu took over as the representative of the Six Tea Mountains.

When Ruan Fu wrote the Pu'er Cha Ji (Record of Pu'er Tea) during the Daoguang reign, he recorded another list used locally in Pu'er that included Yiwu among the six mountains. When people today say "Yiwu replaced Mansa," this is the shift they mean; details are in The Six Ancient Tea Mountains and Yiwu: The Home of Tribute Pu'er.

So when people talk about the Yiwu tea area today, it generally includes the former Mansa tea mountain. How Yiwu's villages are divided is in The Villages of Yiwu: Mahei, Guafengzhai, Dingjiazhai, and Wangong.

Zhangjiawan: A Han Tea Village

Zhangjiawan (張家灣) belongs to the Manla village committee and lies near the Han village of Dingjiazhai, just a few slopes and bends away.

• People and history: Mainly Han, the earliest having moved here from Shiping in Yunnan during the Qing dynasty. Zhangjiawan was originally formed by merging several small single-surname hamlets such as Xujialiangzi, Zhujialiangzi, and Gaojiachong, which is why place names after these surnames still remain in the surrounding area.
• Tea routes: Older villagers remember that besides the Tea Horse Road through Yiwu, Zhangjiawan had another tea route heading south, through Laos to Lai Chau in Vietnam, then by boat to Haiphong and on to Hong Kong and Guangzhou; a round trip took several months.
• Gardens: The local former Party branch secretary says the ancient trees here are mostly 200 to 300-some years old; many were cut down when tea didn't sell from 1976 to 1988, and from 1998 on they've been carefully managed and not pruned down again. Zhangjiawan still has "rattan tea" (tengtiao cha), locally called "willow-leaf tea." One account puts the village area at about 1,500 meters.

Zhangjiawan tea has moderately tight, downy leaves, a golden liquor, a high aroma, and a mellow taste: classic Yiwu "rising fragrance, soft water." More than a decade ago, what the market called "Dingjiazhai tea" often included Zhangjiawan, Zhujialiangzi, and Xujialiangzi, since these villages are only 2–3 kilometers apart with similar terrain and climate.

Yishanmo: Ancient Gardens in the Forest

Yishanmo (一扇磨) is a small area that has only become well known in the past 20 years. There are two accounts of whose it is:

• The market often says Yishanmo is a tea plot of the Han village of Dingjiazhai;
• Tea people who have visited in person and town officials say Yishanmo and neighboring Xiangchunlin are both picked by villagers from Paxihe Village, and have nothing to do with the Han village of Dingjiazhai.

Paxihe is a natural village under the Manla village committee, about 2 kilometers from the village committee and about 30 kilometers from Yiwu town, with around 40 households. "Paxi" in Dai refers to the Hui people, and legend has it Hui people once lived along this river.

The common explanation of the odd name "Yishanmo" (one millstone) is that around 2000–2003, when pu'er prices were rising, Paxihe villagers went into the primeval forest in search of ancient tea trees and found two old millstones in an abandoned old tea garden; one was broken, leaving only one intact, and from then on the place was called Yishanmo. Another version holds that one stone of a matched pair was stolen. The plot is further divided into small parcels such as Paozhuqing, Lengmiao, Weiqiang, Kuzhulin, Laojiujia, Magenqing, and Huangzhupeng.

Yishanmo's ancient trees are scattered through primeval forest, a patch here and a patch there, rarely forming continuous stands; the trees aren't especially tall, and farmers say most are 500–600 years old. Getting from the village to the gardens takes 3–4 hours by motorbike and on foot, over two mountains.

What Style Do These Teas Have?

The old Mansa tea mountain area as a whole has an extra layer of thickness compared with Mahei and Luoshuidong:

The tea world often says that aged Yishanmo develops a floral note like michelia blossoms along with dried-fruit aromas, and a glossy golden liquor. The aging qualities of Yiwu tea are covered in Yiwu Zhengshan: Yiwu Town, Yiwu Old Street, and the "Yiwu Style".

For the other Six Ancient Tea Mountains, continue with Yibang: Mansong Tribute Tea and Small-Leaf Varieties and Manzhuan: Manlin, Manzhuang, and the Eight Villages.

FAQ

Where is Mansa today? In the north of Yiwu Town, Mengla County, Yunnan, roughly around the Manla village committee, near the Laos border. There's no longer an administrative village called Mansa, but place names like Lao Mansa remain.

Are Mansa and Yiwu the same tea mountain? In the Qing dynasty they were two: Mansa was on the earliest list of the Six Tea Mountains, then declined, and Yiwu took its place. Today, the Yiwu tea area usually includes the old Mansa tea mountain.

Which village does Yishanmo tea belong to? The market often says the Han village of Dingjiazhai, but on-site records mostly say it's picked by villagers of Paxihe Village under the Manla village committee. The two villages aren't far apart, both in northern Yiwu.

What ethnic group lives in Zhangjiawan? Mainly Han; most of their ancestors were tea people who moved here from Shiping in Yunnan during the Qing dynasty.