Yiwu Zhengshan: Yiwu Town, Yiwu Old Street, and the "Yiwu Style"

When it comes to the "softness" of pu'er, the first place name many seasoned tea drinkers think of is Yiwu (易武). It has been an important tea trading hub since the Qing dynasty, most of the old Republican-era tea houses set up shop here, and today's tea cakes often carry the four characters "Yiwu Zhengshan."

Where Is Yiwu?

Yiwu Town is in the north of Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, bordering Laos to the east and Jiangcheng County of Pu'er City to the north. It used to be "Yiwu Township," and on January 14, 2015, with the approval of the Yunnan provincial government, the township was converted into a town. According to China's national place-name data, the town covers about 938 square kilometers with a population of about 21,600, and comprises six administrative villages, Yiwu, Mahei, Namotian, Manla, Luode, and Mannai, with dozens of natural villages beneath them.

"Yiwu" is generally thought to be a transliteration from Dai, commonly explained as "the place where the beautiful snake woman lives." The town sits at about 1,300 meters, while the whole tea area stretches from river valleys around 700 meters to ridges above 2,000 meters. The terrain is broken, with many streams and valleys and villages scattered across the mountains, which is why Yiwu tea varies so much in flavor.

Yiwu was the last of the Qing dynasty's "Six Ancient Tea Mountains" to become famous, yet it came from behind to lead. During the Qianlong reign, large numbers of migrants came into the tea mountains, and from the Daoguang reign onward, Yiwu's tea trade and merchant houses multiplied; one account says 70% of the maocha from the Six Tea Mountains was traded through Yiwu at the time. For the full history of the Six Tea Mountains, read The Six Ancient Tea Mountains and Yiwu: The Home of Tribute Pu'er.

Yiwu Was Once a County Seat

Today Yiwu is a town, but from the Republican era into the 1950s it was a county seat. According to place-name records:

• 1927: The Pusi border administrative districts set up in the early Republican years were converted into counties. The Fifth District around Mengla became Zhenyue County, and the Sixth District around Yiwu became Xiangming County.
• 1929: Xiangming County was merged into Zhenyue County; most records say the county seat was located in Yiwu from then on.
• 1953: Zhenyue County was abolished and split into administrative units such as Banna Yiwu and Banna Mengla.
• 1958–1959: Yiwu County was first established, then merged with Mengla in 1959, after which Yiwu became a township under Mengla County.
• September 30, 2004: The Yunnan provincial government approved abolishing Manla Township and placing its former area under Yiwu Township, which is why today's Manla village committee, Dingjiazhai, and Zhangjiawan all belong to Yiwu.
• 2015: Yiwu Township was converted into a town.

You'll occasionally see the characters "Zhenyue" (鎮越) on the packaging of old tea houses or in documents; they refer to this era, when Yiwu was the center.

What Does "Yiwu Zhengshan" Mean?

"Zhengshan" (正山) refers to origin, emphasizing that the tea comes from this mountain itself rather than being bought in from elsewhere. Republican-era Yiwu tea houses wrote "Yiwu Zhengshan" on their cakes and packaging to show the raw material came from the Yiwu tea area.

Note that the "Yiwu Zhengshan" older tea people talk about covers a large area. Local veteran tea makers recall that the Yiwu Zhengshan made by tea houses in the 1930s–1940s used material from the entire Yiwu tea mountain area, buying tea from villages like Mahei, Manluo, Laojie, Mansa, Manla, and Mannai at the same price and processing it all together. Today's market subdividing Yiwu into small areas like Mahei, Guafengzhai, Luoshuidong, and Wangong is roughly a post-2008 development, and price gaps between villages also opened up after that. So when you see "Yiwu Zhengshan," read it as "tea from the Yiwu tea area"; which village or which garden needs to be asked separately. How the villages are divided is in The Villages of Yiwu: Mahei, Guafengzhai, Dingjiazhai, and Wangong, and how to read levels of place names is in Tea Regions, Tea Mountains, and Villages: How to Read the Levels of Place Names.

What's on Yiwu Old Street?

Yiwu Old Street, around Shizijie (Crossroads Street) in Yiwu Village, is the historic heart of the whole tea area. There are a few things here worth taking your time over:

• Starting point of the Tea Horse Road: A marker on the old street shows the starting point of the Tea Horse Road, and the stone-paved road leading out from here is the route caravans once took to carry tea to Pu'er, Simao, and farther afield.
• Old tea house sites: The former sites of tea houses such as Tongxinghao, Cheshunhao, Tongchanghao, and Tongqinghao are all around Shizijie. These sites and several nearby stretches of ancient road are listed together in the Mengla section of the "Tea Horse Road," a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. The tea world also tells the story of Cheshunhao being granted a plaque reading "Rui Gong Tian Chao" (auspicious tribute to the Celestial Court), often taken as a symbol of Yiwu's tribute tea history.
• Traditional village: Shizijie Village was listed in the first batch of "Chinese Traditional Villages" in 2012, and Yiwu was named a Yunnan Provincial Famous Historical and Cultural Town in 2007.

In the 1990s, Taiwanese tea people came here to seek out the sites of old tea houses; the story is in Taiwanese Tea People Return to Yiwu. The backgrounds of the old houses are in Yiwu's Old Tea Houses: Tongqing, Songpin, Cheshun, Fuyuanchang, and the road itself in The Tea Horse Road: Pu'er on Horseback.

The "Yiwu Style": What Fragrance and Softness Are Like

Tea drinkers often describe Yiwu tea as "rising fragrance, soft water." Broken down, it feels like this:

• Fragrance: Young tea usually has floral and honey notes, fine and long, not rushing out the moment you lift the lid but blended into the liquor, lingering in the mouth after you swallow.
• Softness: The liquor is smooth and not sharp on entry, bitterness and astringency are generally low, and any bitterness clears quickly.
• Sweetness: The huigan doesn't surge up all at once; it spreads slowly across the tongue and cheeks and lasts a long time.

Yiwu's softness is often contrasted with Menghai tea's "strength"; Bingdao offers another, more honeyed kind of sweetness. To compare side by side, brew a Bingdao Old Village Dragon Pearl and a cup of Yiwu, and compare how quickly the sweetness arrives and how thick or thin the texture is. Regional style descriptions are summarized in Menghai Style, Yiwu Style, Lincang Style: How Regional Styles Are Described.

There's a lot of variation within Yiwu too: Guafengzhai and Wangong lean thick, while Mahei, Luoshuidong, and Manxiu lean sweet and soft. "Yiwu style" is the shared base.

Is Yiwu Tea Good for Aging?

Yes, and this is one of Yiwu's most famous qualities. Most Hao-grade aged teas used material from the Yiwu area and still taste wonderful after decades of storage, which has made Yiwu almost synonymous with "aged tea."

Tea farmers' experience is: in year 1 the aroma is high and lifting; in years 2–3 it pulls back; after year 3 the honey note deepens; after 5 years or more aged aromas begin to appear and the texture thickens. Actual speed depends on storage conditions. How aging works is covered in How Raw Pu'er Ages: The Process and Stages, and temperature and humidity for home storage in Temperature and Humidity for Storing Pu'er.

How to Bring Out Yiwu's Softness

Yiwu tea is low in bitterness and astringency, so you can use 7 grams in a 110 ml gaiwan with water at 95–100°C, pouring off the first 3 infusions after about 10 seconds and adding 5–10 seconds per infusion from the 4th on. Let the liquor cool slightly before taking a sip, and the sweetness becomes more noticeable.

FAQ

Which province and county is Yiwu in? In the north of Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, bordering Laos to the east; the town sits at about 1,300 meters.

If a cake says "Yiwu Zhengshan," which village is the tea from? "Yiwu Zhengshan" refers to the Yiwu tea area, not a specific village. Republican-era Yiwu Zhengshan used material from the entire Yiwu tea mountain area; to know the exact village, check whether the merchant labels it separately.

Is Yiwu tea good for beginners? Very. Yiwu tea is low in bitterness and astringency, soft in texture, and finely fragrant, the starting point for many people who fall in love with raw pu'er.

How long should Yiwu tea be stored before it tastes good? It can be drunk young; if you like honey notes, store it 3 years or more, and for aged aromas, about 5 years or more, provided the storage environment is clean, ventilated, and free of odors.