Mengku Daxueshan: A Wild Ancient Tea Tree Community

Look west from Mengku Town and you'll see a high ridge, often wrapped in cloud during the rainy season: that's Mengku Daxueshan (勐庫大雪山, Mengku Great Snow Mountain). At its foot are the cultivated gardens of famous villages like Bingdao, Dongguo, and Dahusai; climb into the forest above 2,000 meters and you'll find a large expanse of wild ancient tea trees.

How High Is Mengku Daxueshan?

Mengku Daxueshan is within Mengku Town, Shuangjiang County, Lincang City. Its main peak is 3,233 meters, the highest point of the Bangma mountain range. The Bangma range runs roughly north to south along the border between Shuangjiang and Gengma counties, and Mengku Daxueshan is simply its highest summit.

It's called a snow mountain, but what tea drinkers see on the way up is mostly cloud-wrapped forest; the Tropic of Cancer passes through Shuangjiang County. Lincang has three "great snow mountains" over 3,000 meters: Mengku Daxueshan in Shuangjiang, Bangdong Daxueshan in Linxiang, and Yongde Daxueshan in Yongde. They are three different mountains.

Using the Nanmeng River to divide east and west, Mengku Daxueshan is on the West Half-Mountain side; the details of the division are in Mengku's East and West Half-Mountains.

How Was the Wild Tea Community Discovered?

This community of tea trees hasn't been known to the outside world for long. According to local records:

• In March 1997, several villagers from Gongnong Village in Mengku Town found tea trees on the mountainside at about 2,400 meters while up the mountain; in August of the same year, villagers found a large tea tree on the mountain.
• As word spread, the relevant authorities in Lincang and Shuangjiang began to pay attention. In December 2002, experts were organized to survey the mountain.
• The survey preliminarily confirmed about 12,000 mu (about 800 hectares) of wild ancient tea tree communities on the middle and upper parts of Daxueshan, between 2,200 and 2,750 meters; some sources give about 12,700 mu.

This community is often described as one of the highest-altitude, densest, and best-preserved wild ancient tea tree communities known so far. For the large tree numbered "No. 1," the common account in the tea world is an age of about 2,700 years; such ages are mostly estimates, so take the figure as a reference rather than settled fact. See “Thousand-Year Trees” and “Ten-Thousand-Year Wild Tea”: Can You Trust the Numbers?.

What Does the Wild Tea Community Look Like?

The tea trees on the mountain are very different from the low, pruned bushes in tea gardens:

• Form: Tall trees, growing mixed with other forest trees;
• Environment: Well-preserved native vegetation, lots of mist, high humidity;
• Distribution: Scattered one by one through the forest, not in rows like a garden;
• Type: Wild-type tea trees, not the same thing as the cultivated Mengku large-leaf tea below.

For how wild, transitional, and cultivated types are distinguished, read Wild, Transitional, and Cultivated Types.

Can You Drink Daxueshan Tea?

Yes. Local villagers pick and process it, and on the market it's called "Daxueshan wild tea" or "Mengku wild tea." But it's not quite like ordinary pu'er:

• Botanically: The common account in the tea world is that wild-type tea trees are classified as close relatives in the Camellia taliensis (Dali tea) group, not quite the same as the cultivated tea plant (large-leaf variety) we know. More on this in Wild Tea: The "Teas" That Aren't C. sinensis.
• In flavor: It's often described as having a wild-mountain character and a cooling sensation, with bitterness and astringency that behave differently from cultivated large-leaf tea, a lighter liquor, and an aroma all its own. People used to Bingdao's sweet smoothness may find it unfamiliar at first.
• In composition: Wild tea's chemical makeup differs from cultivated tea, so its taste, aroma, and staying power over infusions all differ from ordinary pu'er.

If you want to try it, brew a small amount on the light side the first time, get to know its taste, and then decide whether you like it. Also, "wild" is used very loosely on the market; some tea labeled "wild" actually comes from cultivated gardens abandoned for years, so ask carefully where the raw material comes from before buying.

Daxueshan and Bingdao

Daxueshan and Bingdao are on the same Bangma range:

• Location: Bingdao is on the northern part of the range's east slope, on the upper Nanmeng River, at about 1,400–2,500 meters; Daxueshan's wild tea community is on the middle and upper parts of the mountain, above 2,200 meters.
• Tea trees: Bingdao's tea is cultivated Mengku large-leaf, with the local story of seeds brought from Xishuangbanna in 1485; on Daxueshan are naturally growing wild-type tea trees.
• Significance: Seeing a wild tea community and 500-plus-year-old cultivated ancient gardens on the same mountain is very valuable for studying the evolution of the tea plant, and it gives the name "Mengku" even more weight in the tea world.

So the two are neighbors, and also the two ends of the tea tree's story: up the mountain, the wild original; at its foot, the result of people domesticating, planting, and turning it into fine tea. Bingdao's story is in Bingdao Old Village: The Sweetness of Mengku and Bingdao's Five Villages.

FAQ

Q: How high is Mengku Daxueshan?
A: Its main peak is 3,233 meters, the highest point of the Bangma range; the wild ancient tea tree community is between 2,200 and 2,750 meters.

Q: When was Mengku Daxueshan's wild tea discovered?
A: Villagers from Gongnong Village in Mengku Town found it on the mountain in March 1997, and an expert survey in December 2002 confirmed about 12,000 mu of wild ancient tea tree communities.

Q: Is Daxueshan wild tea the same as Bingdao tea?
A: No. Bingdao is cultivated Mengku large-leaf tea, while Daxueshan has wild-type tea trees; their plant type, taste, and aroma all differ.

Q: Are Mengku Daxueshan and Bangdong Daxueshan the same mountain?
A: No. Mengku Daxueshan is in Shuangjiang County, Bangdong Daxueshan in Linxiang District, and Yongde Daxueshan in Yongde County: three different great snow mountains within Lincang.