Nannuo Mountain: The Hani's Thousand-Year Tea Mountain and Its Tea King Tree

On the road from Jinghong to Menghai, the highway runs along the flank of Nannuo Mountain. Only 30-some kilometers from Jinghong, easy to reach, and covered with ancient tea gardens, it's where many people go up a tea mountain for the first time. It's also where the story of modern tea-making in Menghai begins.

Where Is Nannuo Mountain?

Nannuo Mountain (南糯山) belongs to the Nannuoshan village committee of Gelanghe Hani Ethnic Township, Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan, on the east side of Menghai County bordering Jinghong City. "Nannuo" is a Dai place name meaning "bamboo shoot paste": legend has it that a Jinghong pacification commissioner (the highest Dai leader) once passed through, tasted the bamboo shoot paste the villagers made, liked it, and ordered the place to send bamboo shoot paste as tribute every year, and that's how the mountain got its name.

Nannuo Mountain has an average altitude of about 1,400 meters, with plenty of mist, ample rainfall, and deep soil. The people on the mountain are mainly the Aini (also written Ani), a branch of the Hani. The first to grow tea here were the ancestors of the Blang; later they moved away and the Aini took over the gardens. The Aini have a tradition of patronymic linked names, and by counting back through their genealogies, they've lived on Nannuo Mountain for about 55 generations, roughly 800-some years.

The Story of the Tea King Tree

In 1951, Yunnan tea researchers, guided by an Aini hunter, went into the forest on Nannuo Mountain and found a tall, cultivated-type ancient tea tree. After later surveys, experts estimated its age at more than 800 years, and it became known as the "Nannuo Mountain Tea King Tree." The tree proved something: the history of cultivated tea trees on this land is very old indeed.

The tea king tree drew huge numbers of visitors, the soil around it was trampled hard, the tree weakened, and it finally died in the mid-1990s; some sources record 1994, others 1995. Records of its height and girth vary considerably among sources.

The "tea king tree" visitors see today is a different large tea tree, also over 800 years old, near Banpo Old Village; villagers have built a path and boardwalk beside it, and it's the most photographed spot on Nannuo Mountain. For tea king trees around Yunnan, see Yunnan's Famous Tea King Trees.

What Villages Are on Nannuo Mountain?

Nannuo Mountain has about 30 villages large and small, with about 21,600 mu of tea gardens in total, of which about 12,000 mu are ancient gardens, making it one of the mountains with the largest area of ancient gardens in Xishuangbanna. Ancient tea trees are mainly found in nine natural villages; the ones you'll hear most often are:

• Banpo Village (Banpo Old Village): The largest area of ancient gardens; one common count is about 3,700 mu, and the tea king tree is in this area too.
• Zhulin Village: About 1,200 mu of ancient gardens; the forest is dense, and tea trees mostly grow mixed with other trees.
• Guniang Village: About 1,500 mu of ancient gardens.
• Shitou Village (Shitou Old Village, Shitou New Village): Named for the big stones around the village.
• Others: Duoyi Village, Yakou Old Village, Bama, Xiangyang Village, Shuihe Village, and more.

Each village has a different altitude and slope aspect, and the character of the tea differs accordingly. Tea drinkers often say Duoyi Village sits higher up on Nannuo Mountain and its tea is fuller, but that's a matter of experience.

What Does Nannuo Tea Taste Like?

Within Menghai, Nannuo Mountain tea is the gentle, balanced type:

• Aroma: Mainly honey, with a touch of floral; some describe it as a delicate orchid fragrance.
• Taste: Moderate bitterness and astringency, noticeable sweetness, not harsh on entry.
• Huigan and salivation: A long-lasting huigan and a clean, fresh mouth.
• Appearance: Plump buds and leaves with visible white down.

It isn't as powerful as Lao Banzhang, nor as thoroughly soft and sweet as Yiwu; it sits right in the middle, which makes it great for getting to know Menghai tea. If you like the Menghai style but worry about bitterness, Nannuo Mountain is a good place to start.

Nannuo Mountain and the Fohai Tea Factory

In 1938, as Yunnan pushed for machine tea-making, the Hui tea man Bai Mengyu came to Nannuo Mountain, opened about 1,100 mu of new tea gardens, and founded a tea experimental station, followed by a machine tea-making factory, considered at the time one of Yunnan's earliest modern tea factories. Sources differ on the year the factory was completed, giving 1939, 1941, and others.

At about the same time, in 1940, Fan Hejun founded the Fohai Experimental Tea Factory in Menghai (then called Fohai), which later became the Menghai Tea Factory. One factory on the mountain and one in the valley, both were part of Yunnan's development of machine tea-making in southern Yunnan at the time, and Nannuo Mountain tea was an important source of raw material for tea-making in Menghai.

In 1951, the Yunnan Tea Research Institute was established on the site of the old experimental station on Nannuo Mountain, later moving to Menghai. Menghai large-leaf tea, native to Nannuo Mountain, became one of the first national-level improved tea varieties in the 1980s. That's why Nannuo Mountain is often called the cradle of Yunnan tea research. For the full story, see The Fohai Experimental Tea Factory and Mengku, Menghai, Fengqing: Yunnan's Three National Large-Leaf Varieties.

How to Brew Nannuo Tea

Nannuo tea isn't very bitter or astringent, so a standard raw pu'er method works: 7–8 grams in a 110 ml gaiwan, boiling water, pouring off the first 3 infusions after 8–10 seconds. After pouring, smell the lid first; the honey note is usually most obvious there. In later infusions, gradually lengthen the steeping time, and the sweetness will stay with you throughout.

FAQ

Q: Where is Nannuo Mountain?
A: In Gelanghe Hani Ethnic Township, Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan, under the Nannuoshan village committee, 30-some kilometers from Jinghong City, at an average altitude of about 1,400 meters.

Q: Is Nannuo Mountain's tea king tree still alive?
A: The 800-plus-year-old tea king tree found in 1951 died in the mid-1990s. The one you see near Banpo Old Village today is another large tea tree, also over 800 years old.

Q: What villages are on Nannuo Mountain?
A: About 30 villages large and small, with ancient trees concentrated in nine natural villages including Banpo, Zhulin, Guniang, Shitou, Duoyi, and Yakou Old Village.

Q: Is Nannuo Mountain tea good? Is it suitable for beginners?
A: Nannuo tea has moderate bitterness and astringency, a clear honey aroma, and a long huigan. It's the most balanced type of Menghai tea and a great introduction.

Q: What's the connection between Nannuo Mountain and the Menghai Tea Factory?
A: In 1938, Bai Mengyu founded a tea experimental station and machine tea factory on Nannuo Mountain, and in 1940 the Fohai Experimental Tea Factory (later the Menghai Tea Factory) was founded. Both were starting points of Yunnan's machine tea-making, and Nannuo Mountain is also the native home of Menghai large-leaf tea.