野生茶树 wild tea tree

Wild tea trees have been cultivated in Wuzhi Mountain for thousands of years. Shuiman tea has high quality and good taste, and is often talked about by tea drinkers, but the processing history of Shuiman tea is rarely known.

In 2000, female workers squeezed black tea powder off a conveyor belt with their hands. Photo by Huang Yiming

For a long time, the Li people living in the Wuzhishan area have used the wild Hainan big-leaf tea tree in the most natural and traditional way: one is to cook and drink; the other is to use tea as a medicine to prevent and cure diseases. It was not until the 1950s that Shuimancha production began to change from traditional manual craftsmanship to modern large-scale processing methods, and Shuimancha slowly entered the public eye and gradually became known to the world.

There were no artificial tea trees in ancient times, all tea leaves were collected from wild tea trees

Tea, as a world-class drink, has a long history, and it is difficult to say exactly when tea entered people's lives. So is the water full of tea.

There are two types of Shuiman tea trees: one is the wild Hainan big-leaf tea tree, and the other is the Hainan big-leaf tea tree cultivated by artificial cuttings. Wild Hainan big-leaf tea is accompanied by tropical rainforest plants, hidden in dense jungles, discovered by locals, and then used medicinally, even in food and drink.

In 2000, at the state-run Tongshi Tea Farm, huge fans were one of the traditional tools the factory used to cool tea leaves. Photo by Huang Yiming

"It is not clear when Shuiman tea appeared. The concept passed down from ancestors is 'there is tea on the mountain'." When visiting Shuiman Township, most tea farmers and aboriginal villagers told the Hainan Daily reporter that a hundred years ago, the people in the Shuiman area were There are wild tea trees with huge roots on Wuzhi Mountain. Some tea trees are more than ten meters high, with thick roots and stems. The raw materials for the water-filled tea are all picked by the local people.

The growth and development of wild tea trees in Wuzhi Mountain is closely related to the surrounding ecological environment, such as climate, soil, topography, landform, etc. It is the local environment that creates the excellent quality of Shuimancha.

In 2000, female workers were picking tea. Photo by Huang Yiming

After on-the-spot investigation and textual research by some experts, the Li nationality area in Hainan has hardly planted tea trees in the historical process spanning over a thousand years. In ancient times, the production and living conditions in the Li area were poor, and the transportation was inconvenient. There are no more records of the agricultural activities of tea growing in the ancient Wuzhishan area.

Xin Shibiao, a professor at the School of Humanities and Communication of Hainan University, stated in his translation of the book "Journey to Hainan" written by the American author Xiang Bianwen that the American botanist and missionary Xiang Bianwen said in an article written in 1885 that he had no doubts The tea in Wuzhishan is wild, because it grows in the dense jungle and is mixed with other plants. The local tribes do not grow tea trees, nor do they use tea as a drink, but they collect the leaves of this wild plant and dry them in the sun. The supply to the Han people is small, and it is called "Li tea".

The history of Shuiman tea without long-term artificial planting is also confirmed in the "Hainan Island Chronicle" compiled by Chen Mingshu in the Republic of China: "There is no artificial planting of tea on this island, and most of the tea you drink is generally given to outsiders. They are all collected from wild tea trees, and the production methods are harsh and the color and taste are not good. Among them, the most tea is produced by the Wuzhi Mountains and Rivers Mandong, the trees are large and full, and the tea leaves are still smelly.”

The book "Tongshi City Chronicle" records: "Wuzhi Shanshui Mancha was planted in 1958, but the planting area is not large."

Wuzhishan "Jinding Brand" black tea was once nominated by the Queen of England to drink

For a long time, due to the lack of written records in the Li area, many scenes of traditional production and life of the Li people are difficult to restore. Digging deep into the history of Shuiman tea processing is of great significance to Shuiman tea and even Hainan tea culture.

Chen Dexin, academic member of the China International Tea Culture Research Association and founder of the Hainan Tea Society (Association), introduced that when he searched for historical materials, he found that the Wuzhi Shanshui Mandong had produced tea as early as the Ming Dynasty, and the Shuiman tea at that time was processed according to different processes. The technology divides the products into "bud tea" and "leaf tea". It can be seen that the processing technology of Shuiman tea has a long history.

Villagers of the Li nationality in Wuzhishan pick spring tea. Photo by Hainan Daily reporter Li Tianping

The "Wuzhi Mountain Asking Li Ji" published in the 17th year of the Republic of China records that some people in the Wuzhi Mountain area developed water full tea before 1901, and its tea-making technology was introduced from Meixian County, Guangdong. In addition to a small amount of tribute tea, a small number of tea leaves go out of the island every year. .

After the founding of New China, formal Shuiman tea processing factories began to appear in the Shuiman area.

The book "Qiongzhong County Chronicle" records: In 1958, Wuzhishan commune established Wuzhishan Tea Farm with 15 employees. In 1965, only the processing plant of Wuzhishan Tea Factory remained... In 1986, the administrative district of Wuzhishan Tea Factory was allocated to Tongshi City (now Wuzhishan City).

According to Wang Qibin, an old employee of the tea farm, the Wuzhishan Tea Farm was established on February 10, 1958, mainly picking wild tea and processing it into green tea and Gongfu black tea.

"Qiongzhong County Chronicle" also records that before 1958, there were only wild water full species of tea trees in Qiongzhong County. In 1960, five new varieties, including Hainan large-leaf species, Yunnan large-leaf species, and Tieguanyin, were introduced.

In 1958, Baoting County established the Hongqi Tea Farm in Hongqi Town (now Tongshi Town, Wuzhishan City) to harvest and process wild Hainan big-leaf tea. In January 1960, Hongqi Tea Farm was renamed the state-owned Tongshi Tea Farm.

Hainan documentary photographer Huang Yiming visited the state-run Tongshi Tea Farm in 2000. In his book "The True Color of the Mirror", there is such a record about the production conditions of the tea farms at that time: In the Wuzhi Mountains of Hainan Island, there is a tea farm that has been producing famous tea for 40 years. In the 1990s, it was nominated by the Queen of England to drink it and became the pride of Hainan tea.

In the early 1960s, the predecessor of the state-run Tongshi Tea Farm was a military industrial enterprise. After that, educated youth from all over the country came here to “go to the mountains and go to the countryside”, which became a gathering place for the educated youth. More than 1,000 educated young people have cultivated tea in large areas in tea farms for nearly 10 years, leaving behind many legends and beautiful and moving stories.

In 2000, when Huang Yiming visited the tea farm, he found that the workers of the tea farm were still using the traditional semi-mechanical and semi-manual methods to refine Wuzhishan black tea and green tea. At that time, the tea farm produced about 350 tons of tea per year, and the average annual income of workers was 6,000 to 7,000 yuan. At that time, there were 2,600 employees, including 1,037 retired workers.

Huang Yiming interviewed Wang Rencui, a tea farm worker. Wang Rencui, a native of Guangxi, came to the tea farm to settle down at the age of 20. At work, Wang Rencui and his colleagues kept squeezing the black tea powder from the conveyor belt with both hands, and then drying it to make black tea. The production lines are mostly female workers. Every day at 11:30 noon, the tea leaves from the mountains arrive at the workshop, and unloading the tea leaves is also the job of the female workers. From tea green to finished tea, it takes several hours. Behind the roasting workshop, there are four or five large boilers, which are used for roasting tea. It burns 5 tons of coal every day, and the cost is 2,500 yuan. The production cost of tea is extremely high, and the operation of the tea farm is facing challenges.

21st century: Shuiman tea processing industry is booming

After 2010, with the improvement of traffic conditions, the Shuiman tea processing industry has entered a stage of rapid development, and batches of tea people who are committed to making tea continue to emerge. Today, walking in Shuiman Township, you can see tea gardens all over the mountains and plains. There are many tea processing companies and tea sales shops on both sides of the street, and the local tea industry is booming.

A tea garden in Mauna Village, Shuiman Township, Wuzhishan City. Photo by Hainan Daily reporter Li Tianping

Tea planting in Wuzhishan City has been distributed in four townships including Tongshi Town, Nansheng Town, Maoyang Town and Changhao Township from only in Shuiman Township.

Liang Meizhen, a tea maker who was born in Xincun, Shuiman Township, has been making tea and building her own tea brand since 2015. She introduced that at that time, many villagers were reluctant to promote the tea planting industry in Shuiman, and they were even reluctant to develop tea. The industry has doubts. "Some villagers even laugh at us, thinking that the tea industry has no way out, and everyone would not think that the tea they usually drink can become a hot commodity."

With the lead and extensive publicity of some leading enterprises, the market of Shuiman tea has gradually opened up, and the market prospect is broad. Wang Faxin, a villager in Fangxiang Village, Shuiman Township, Wuzhishan City, said that with the increasing awareness of Wuzhishan tea both inside and outside the province, tea prices have risen steadily in the past two years. In addition to the management of tea gardens, he now also participates in tea planting training, cooperates with tea green purchasing companies, and establishes cooperatives with several tea farmers to expand and strengthen the tea industry. Today, he has become a leader in the village. One of the leaders of getting rich.

Wuzhishan Impression Shuiman Tea Factory is one of the early local companies that entered the Shuiman tea production area. In 2015, after seeing the development advantages of Shuiman Tea, Guo Lin, the head of the tea factory, set up a local factory. tea making.

"It is now in the spring tea picking season. The tea factory sends people to the tea farmers in Shuiman Township to collect tea every day. After returning to the factory, it will be processed and produced." Guo Lin said that when the tea factory was first established, the Shuiman tea processing enterprise did not have the same There are so many now, and now in the peak season of purchasing water full of tea, she sees more pickup trucks pulling tea green than ordinary vehicles on the road every day.

"Only by continuously improving the picking and tea-making techniques can we do a good job in quality control and build a brand." The relevant person in charge of the Wuzhishan Agriculture and Rural Bureau introduced that in recent years, the number of processing enterprises in the Shuiman tea production area has continued to increase, and many departments in Wuzhishan are working together to formulate In order to improve the quality standards of tea products, by inviting senior tea masters, experts and scholars from inside and outside the province, and through classroom lectures, on-site training, etc., to improve local processing technology and ensure the quality of tea full of water.

Statistics for 2021

There are 35 tea enterprises and cooperatives registered with Wuzhishan Tea Association

There are 5 processing plants over 800 square meters

There are 7 300-600 square meters

There are 11 under 300 square meters

Some factories are still under planning and construction

Old tea sings new tea rhyme

Text \ Hainan Daily reporter Xie Kai

The tea trees in Wuzhi Mountain and the peach blossom-like environment attract tea drinkers from afar. Zhuo Shuyan, a girl from the Li ethnic group in Shuiman Township, followed her grandmother up the mountain to pick tea. She can tell stories about the tea making of the older generation.

In the past, the Li people came to eat from the mountains and used tea as an ingredient. The wild tea leaves are mashed and boiled with water, which is the first generation of "water full tea" tea making method. Before the 1950s, there was almost no mechanical production of water full tea.

In 1958, Wuzhishan Tea Farm was established in Shuiman Township, and Shuimancha began to explore mechanized production methods, but the taste of Shuiman tea was still the soul of Shuimancha at that time.

Huang Jumei, who is over 60 years old, is a villager of Shuiman Village and the mother of Zhuo Shuyan. She has hardly left this land for more than 60 years.

"Natural fermentation and charcoal fire-frying are our tea-making traditions." Huang Jumei introduced that in the past, tea farmers picked tea greens full of wild tea trees, packed them in self-made bamboo baskets, and brought them down the mountain to make black and green teas. . Zhuo Shuyan still has the memory of picking tea and making tea with his parents when he was a child.

Zhuo Shuyan. Data map

"Shuiman tea is durable, smooth and fragrant, the soup color is pure, and the taste is good." Zhuo Shuyan believes that Shuiman tea is popular in the market, in addition to benefiting from the good local original ecological environment, traditional hand-made craftsmanship is also important. reason.

Before returning to his hometown, Zhuo Shuyan had worked in Xinjiang, Shenzhen and other places for more than 10 years. In 2017, Zhuo Shuyan gave up his job in the mainland, and with a passion for his hometown, returned to his hometown to start a business, combining the folk customs of the Li family and Shuiman. Tea industry, founded the Li people culture company and his own tea company.

Following the traditional tea-making method of the original ecology of water full of tea, and integrating modern advanced tea-making techniques and concepts, Zhuo Shuyan launched her own tea brand. The original ecological planting and the unique frying and baking techniques make the water full of tea have a long-lasting taste and are deeply favored by consumers.

Creating tea culture has also become the direction of Zhuo Shuyan's efforts. Women pick tea during the day, and perform long-table banquets at night. Not only do they get economic benefits from the sale of green tea, but the development of the cultural and tourism industry allows villagers to earn more money during holidays.

Zhuo Shuyan said that she believes in the power of innovation, and will continue to revitalize the culture of Shuimancha, so that Shuimancha will attract more people to come and explore.