Mengku's East and West Half-Mountains: Bingdao's Neighbors

Mengku Township in Shuangjiang, Lincang, is the home of the Mengku large-leaf tea and the place where Bingdao (冰島) is found. Mengku's tea gardens cover nearly 80,000 mu, and most households in the township make their living from tea in one way or another. Bingdao is only one of its villages. Around it lies a ring of other villages, each with its own mountain and its own flavor, and tea drinkers sort them into the "West Half-Mountain" and the "East Half-Mountain."

How the East and West Half-Mountains Are Divided

Mengku's terrain is often described as "two mountains framing one river and one valley": the Bangma Mountains to the west, Ma'an Mountain to the east, and between them the Nanmeng River flowing north to south, with Mengku's flat valley floor along its banks. Locals use the Nanmeng River as the dividing line:

• West of the river, on the eastern slopes of the Bangma Mountains, is the West Half-Mountain;
• East of the river, on the Ma'an Mountain side, is the East Half-Mountain.

The Bangma Mountains run roughly north to south along the border between Shuangjiang and Gengma, and their main peak is Mengku Daxueshan (Great Snow Mountain) at 3,233 meters. So Daxueshan itself sits on the West Half-Mountain side, and Bingdao, too, lies on the eastern slopes of the Bangma Mountains, on the west bank of the Nanmeng River. Bingdao Village sits on the upper reaches of the river at the northernmost end of Mengku, and its 5 hamlets straddle both banks: the Old Village, Dijie, and Nanpo are on the West Half-Mountain, while Bawai and Nuowu are on the East Half-Mountain.

This division comes from local and tea-trade custom rather than any official administrative boundary, but it's a very handy way to get to know Mengku tea.

Villages on the West Half-Mountain

Of the "eighteen villages of Mengku" that the tea world often talks about, 10 are on the West Half-Mountain:

• Bingdao: Mengku's most famous village. In early 2025, its Old Village received national geographical indication protection as "Bingdao Old Village Tea";
• Dongguo: a village often compared with Bingdao;
• Dahusai and Xiaohusai: Xiaohusai is sometimes said to "rival Bingdao";
• Baka, Gongnong, Banggai, Bingshan, and Hudong;
• Daxueshan: the tea gardens and wild tea tree populations around Mengku Daxueshan.

Villages on the East Half-Mountain

The East Half-Mountain has 8 villages:

• Banuo: the East Half-Mountain's flagship, often said in the tea world to have more surviving ancient tea trees than any other village in Mengku;
• Najiao, Mangbang, Bangdu, Nasai, Donglai, Mangna, and Chengzi.

Bingdao Village's Bawai and Nuowu hamlets are also on the east bank of the river, and they're sometimes discussed together with the East Half-Mountain.

The Style of Each Side

Descriptions of the two sides' styles aren't consistent across the tea world, so here are the two common versions:

• One view: West Half-Mountain teas have a clean fragrance and plump, downy buds, with a smooth, full taste and quick huigan (the sweet aftertaste) and salivation; East Half-Mountain teas are more bitter but less astringent, with a rich, mellow body that drinks brisk and strong.
• Another view: East Half-Mountain teas have a high, soaring aroma and lots of visible down, but relatively weaker cha qi; the West Half-Mountain is the opposite, with a restrained aroma and abundant cha qi.

The two views seem to contradict each other, but they point to one thing: the differences between villages, between tree ages, and between seasons are often bigger than the difference between east and west. Bingdao sits right at the river's source, and some say it combines the traits of both sides, with both sweetness and fragrance. Rather than memorizing formulas, it's better to taste them side by side yourself.

How to Compare the East and West Half-Mountains

Set out two identical gaiwans with 5 g of tea in each, one from the West Half-Mountain and one from the East Half-Mountain:

1. Use boiling water and pour off after the same time (for example, 10 seconds);
2. Compare the liquor color first, then smell the lids and note which one's aroma hits you first;
3. Hold a small sip in your mouth for a few seconds, noting which is sweet right away and which is noticeably bitter but fades fast;
4. After swallowing, wait 10 seconds and compare how quickly the huigan arrives and how long it lasts;
5. Let both cool to lukewarm and taste again; the sweetness and bitterness become clearer.

After doing this once or twice, you'll be able to tell which of the two views each of your teas falls under.

Brewing Guide for East and West Half-Mountain Teas

For teas with more noticeable bitterness, use a little less leaf and pour off faster, and the aroma actually comes through more clearly; for sweet, gentle teas, you can use a full measure of leaf for a fuller-bodied brew.

Mengku's Tea Season

Mengku's spring harvest usually peaks in mid-to-late March, a bit later than Menghai and a bit earlier than Fengqing. The elevation difference between the Nanmeng River valley and the mountainsides is large: lower gardens bud first, and higher ones a week or two later, so within the same spring, farmers pick their way up from the lower slopes to the higher ones.

Bingdao's Origins and the Old Village's Ancient Trees

The most widely told local story goes like this: in the 21st year of the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty (1485), the Dai chieftain who ruled Mengmeng (today's Shuangjiang area) sent people to Xishuangbanna, who brought back more than 200 tea seeds and planted them in Bingdao. Over 150 of them took root and grew into Bingdao's tea gardens, which then gradually spread across Mengku. Some sources give the year as 1478 instead. Most of the Bingdao Old Village's ancient tea trees grow right around the houses, and reports say the Old Village has more than a thousand ancient trees over a century old. For details on Bingdao's 5 hamlets, see The Five Hamlets of Bingdao; for the Old Village's flavor, see Bingdao Old Village: The Sweetness of Mengku.

Mengku Daxueshan

The main peak of Mengku Daxueshan rises to 3,233 meters, and across the middle and upper slopes, between 2,200 and 2,750 meters, there are large populations of wild ancient tea trees. They were discovered by local villagers in 1997 and confirmed by an expert survey in 2002. This is the other end of the Mengku tea story: wild tea up on the mountain, and below it, large-leaf trees cultivated by people for more than 500 years. Details are in Mengku Daxueshan.

If you'd like to start with the sweetness of the West Half-Mountain, brew one of our Bingdao Old Village Dragon Pearls in a gaiwan.

FAQ

Q: How are Mengku's East and West Half-Mountains divided?
A: The Nanmeng River is the dividing line. West of the river (the eastern slopes of the Bangma Mountains) is the West Half-Mountain, and east of the river is the East Half-Mountain. This is a local and tea-trade convention.

Q: Is Bingdao on the East or West Half-Mountain?
A: Bingdao Old Village is on the West Half-Mountain. Of Bingdao Village's 5 hamlets, Bawai and Nuowu are on the east bank of the Nanmeng River and are sometimes grouped with the East Half-Mountain.

Q: Which villages are on the West Half-Mountain?
A: The ones commonly named are Bingdao, Dongguo, Dahusai, Xiaohusai, Baka, Gongnong, Banggai, Bingshan, Hudong, and Daxueshan.

Q: Which villages are on the East Half-Mountain?
A: The ones commonly named are Banuo, Najiao, Mangbang, Bangdu, Nasai, Donglai, Mangna, and Chengzi. Banuo is often said to have the most ancient tea trees.

Q: Which side is better, east or west?
A: Neither is better, and descriptions of their styles vary. The best approach is to taste them side by side and find the side you prefer.