Yellow Tea · FFET10393
Junshan Yinzhen (Junshan silver needle)
A yellow tea from the Junshan area of Dongting Lake, with a golden color developed through two yellowing stages.
Tea in which a yellowing step after fixing turns the leaf yellow.
Junshan Yinzhen is a yellow tea from the Junshan area of Yueyang, Hunan, principally Junshan Island in Dongting Lake and Xushi Town. Its buds have silvery hairs, and two yellowing stages develop its golden color. The craft of making Junshan Yinzhen was included in the fifth batch of China's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2021.
What
Junshan Yinzhen is a yellow tea from the Junshan area of Yueyang, Hunan, with silvery hairs on its buds.1,3
When
Picking takes place around Qingming. The available older passage mentions Junshan tea and cannot establish when Junshan Yinzhen began. Its making craft entered the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2021.1,2,3
Where
The principal production areas are Junshan Island and Xushi Town in Junshan District, Yueyang, Hunan. Junshan Island lies in Dongting Lake.1,3
How
Picking follows requirements known as the nine no-picking rules. Processing includes spreading, fixing, drying and wrapping for yellowing. Two yellowing stages are an important part of the process.1,3
Why
Silvery hairs and a golden color distinguish Junshan Yinzhen. The two yellowing stages help develop that golden color.1,3
Impact and influence
The craft of making Junshan Yinzhen entered the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2021. It is also one of the 44 items of Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China, which was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on November 29, 2022.1,4