The Six Ancient Tea Mountains and Yiwu: Home of Pu'er Tribute Tea

Any history of pu'er has to go through the Six Ancient Tea Mountains. Many Qing-dynasty tribute teas and Republican-era heritage tea houses are tied to this region. This post explains which mountains they are, why they're called "ancient," how Yiwu came to take the lead, and what these mountains look like today.

Which Are the Six Ancient Tea Mountains?

The most common list is: Youle, Gedeng, Yibang, Mangzhi, Manzhuan, and Mansa (曼撒, usually written 慢撒 in old texts). Later, Mansa declined and neighboring Yiwu rose in its place, so the Six Ancient Tea Mountains today are often given as Youle, Gedeng, Yibang, Mangzhi, Manzhuan, and Yiwu.

In terms of today's administrative divisions:

Except for Youle in Jinghong, the other 5 are all in Mengla County. Youle Mountain is today's Jinuo Mountain, home of the Jino people; see Youle Mountain and the Jino People.

Several Lists of the Six Great Tea Mountains

Qing-dynasty documents give a few versions of exactly which mountains make up the "six great tea mountains":

• The 1736 Yunnan Gazetteer (Yunnan Tongzhi): In the legend of the Marquis Wu (Zhuge Liang) relics left on the six tea mountains, it already lists 6 mountain names: Youle, Mangzhi (莽芝), Manzhuan (蠻耑), Yibang, Gedeng, and Mansa (慢撒). (莽芝 is Mangzhi and 蠻耑 is Manzhuan.)
• Tan Cui's 1799 Dianhai Yuheng Zhi: Youle, Gedeng, Yibang, Mangzhi, Manzhuan, and Mansa, which became the version most often quoted today.
• Ruan Fu's 1825 Record of Pu'er Tea (Pu'er Cha Ji): It first cites the Yunnan Gazetteer list, then records another version local to Pu'er Prefecture: Yibang, Jiabu, Xikong, Manzhuan, Gedeng, and Yiwu.

Ruan Fu's second list already includes Yiwu and omits Mansa, which shows that Yiwu was a recognized major tea mountain by the early 19th century. Details on the 2 lists are in Ruan Fu's Record of Pu'er Tea.

Why "Ancient" Six Great Tea Mountains?

There are 2 layers of meaning:

1. In contrast with the "New Six Great Tea Mountains": All six mountains are on the east bank of the Lancang River and were directly administered by Pu'er Prefecture in the Qing dynasty; the tea trade called this area "inside the river." Later, tea mountains on the west bank of the Lancang River, around Menghai, rose to prominence, and the tea trade grouped them as the "New Six Great Tea Mountains," commonly given as Nannuo, Nanqiao, Mengsong, Jingmai, Bulang, and Bada, though lists vary somewhat. To tell them apart, the 6 mountains famous since the Qing dynasty got the word "ancient."
2. Their history really is old: These 6 mountains were the main pu'er-producing area by the 18th century, the source of most tribute tea, and they still have tea steles, old roads, and old tea gardens.

To learn how the Menghai tea region "outside the river" rose, read Fohai in the Republican Era and Menghai and Lao Banzhang.

Yibang: The Center of Tribute Tea

In the early Qing dynasty, Yibang was the administrative and tea center of the six tea mountains, and the local chieftain was based here. Yibang's Mansong tea was selected as tribute tea, holding the highest status and fetching the highest prices; Mansong sits at about 1,340 meters. Yibang has both large-leaf and small-leaf varieties, and the small-leaf variety is said to have been brought by people from Sichuan in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

Yibang still has Qing-dynasty tea steles, dated 1738, 1848, 1888, and other years, recording official rules on tea trading, taxes, and wages. They are valuable physical evidence for studying how tea mountains were managed in the Qing dynasty.

How Yiwu Took Over as the Center

Yiwu's rise was a long process, which can be summed up like this:

• Geographic advantage: Yiwu is the largest of the six tea mountains, at about 750 square kilometers, with many villages and tea gardens; it originally belonged to the same ancient tea area as Mansa.
• Migrants and tea houses: Starting in the Qianlong era, large numbers of migrants, especially Han Chinese from the Shiping area of Yunnan, came to Yiwu to open tea gardens and set up tea houses, and population and output grew rapidly.
• Mansa's decline: Mansa suffered natural disasters and war and was badly damaged, so the center of the tea trade gradually shifted to neighboring Yiwu.
• Yibang's fading: Frequent wars in the late Qing dynasty hit Yibang and the other Xiangming tea mountains hard, and Yiwu became the hub for buying, processing, and shipping tea.
• The era of heritage tea houses: From the late Qing through the Republican era, tea houses such as Tongqing, Songpin, Cheshun, and Fuyuanchang were concentrated in Yiwu, and their cakes later became known as Hao-grade teas; see Yiwu's Heritage Tea Houses.

The details of each mountain's rise and fall, such as population, war, and epidemics, are covered separately in The Rise and Fall of the Six Tea Mountains.

The Yiwu Style

Yiwu tea is most often described as "fragrant aroma, soft liquor": the aroma is delicate and long, often with floral and honey notes; the texture is smooth with low bitterness and astringency; and the sweetness spreads slowly through the mouth. The tea world often contrasts it with Lao Banzhang from Menghai: one bold and forceful, the other soft and graceful. Yiwu villages such as Mahei, Guafengzhai, Dingjiazhai, and Wangong each have their fans; see The Villages of Yiwu.

Impressions of the Other Mountains

• Gedeng: The smallest, with few ancient trees; its fame comes mostly from historical records. The Simao Zhigao records that there was once a tea king tree here, and people made offerings to it before picking.
• Mangzhi: A full brew with good sweetness and a soft aroma.
• Manzhuan: Mellow and full in taste, low in bitterness and astringency, with lasting sweetness; Ruan Fu said Yibang and Manzhuan had the best flavor.
• Youle: Home of the Jino people for generations, with a relatively strong, intense taste.

These are the general impressions common in the tea world. Teas from different villages and trees of different ages on the same mountain vary a lot, so in practice you still have to taste them one by one.

Do the Six Tea Mountains Still Produce Tea?

Yes, they do. After the decline from the late Qing dynasty to the mid-20th century, some old tea gardens were abandoned, but the tea mountains gradually recovered in the late 20th century. After the 2000s, as ancient-tree tea gained attention, the old tea gardens of Yiwu, Yibang, Manzhuan, Mangzhi, and elsewhere were tidied up and picked again, and many newly planted gardens also appeared. Today Yiwu has the highest output and greatest fame among the Six Ancient Tea Mountains, while the others mainly produce small batches of ancient-tree tea.

To taste Yiwu's "softness," use boiling water and pour off the first few infusions after about 10 seconds, noticing how smooth the liquor is and how quickly the aroma opens up. Drinking it side by side with a Menghai tea is the best way to appreciate the difference between their styles.

FAQ

Which are the six great tea mountains? The Qing-dynasty list is Youle, Gedeng, Yibang, Mangzhi, Manzhuan, and Mansa; after Mansa declined, Yiwu took its place, so today they are often given as Youle, Gedeng, Yibang, Mangzhi, Manzhuan, and Yiwu.

Why are they called the "ancient" six great tea mountains? To distinguish them from the "New Six Great Tea Mountains" that later rose around Menghai on the west bank of the Lancang River; these 6 mountains were already the main producers of pu'er and tribute tea in the Qing dynasty.

Why did Yiwu later become the center? Yiwu is large with many tea gardens, and starting in the Qianlong era, migrants and tea houses poured in. After Mansa and Yibang declined in turn, Yiwu became the center for buying, processing, and distributing tea, and in the Republican era the heritage tea houses were concentrated there too.

Do the Six Ancient Tea Mountains still produce tea? Yes. Yiwu has the highest output and fame, while Yibang, Manzhuan, Mangzhi, Gedeng, and Youle mainly produce small batches of ancient-tree tea.