Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The Ninghong tea craft originated in the late Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, rose to fame in the early Daoguang reign, and peaked during the Guangxu reign. From the mid-19th century onward, as a celebrated Chinese black tea, it was exported far to many overseas countries.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Ninghong tea craft is one of the representative black-tea production crafts of China, practiced and transmitted in Xiushui County, Jiangxi Province, and its surrounding areas. Because Xiushui was anciently named Fennin and Yining, and its tea belongs to China's distinctive Gongfu black tea, it is called "Ninghong" or "Ninghong Gongfu tea." Xiushui County lies in northwestern Jiangxi, at the center of nine counties across the three provinces of Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi, within a subtropical humid monsoon climate zone. The area has ample rainfall and sufficient sunshine; its soils are mainly red earth rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—fertile, well-drained, and well-aerated, especially suited to tea bushes. Ninghong is among the earliest Gongfu black teas in China. Ninghong is a fully fermented black tea of the small-leaf variety; its craft is rigorous and refined, and its material selection is superior and meticulous. Picking generally begins before Qingming; it usually takes place after 8 a.m. once the morning mist has just lifted, the standard being a single bud, a bud with one just-unfurling leaf, a bud with one opening leaf, and partly a bud with two leaves. After the fresh leaves are picked they undergo strict sorting and grading to prevent uneven maturity and mixing of inferior leaves. The steps for making Ninghong are rigorous and exacting; the traditional method comprises two processes—initial and refined—with over ten steps. The initial process mainly consists of withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying; the refined process mainly consists of sifting, picking, re-firing, blending, and packing, and creatively developed unique skills such as light withering, heavy rolling, and full fermentation. Ninghong tea is famed at home and abroad for its tight, elegant strips, visible golden tips, upright buds, black lustrous color, lasting high aroma, red bright infused leaf, and rich, mellow, fresh, brisk taste; its rich, lasting apple fragrance is Ninghong's distinctive natural tea scent. The transmission and development of the Ninghong tea craft plays a positive role in boosting employment and prosperity and in realizing rural revitalization; it has become a regional cultural symbol of Xiushui and a calling card for external exchange.
Archive of process records
The steps for making Ninghong are rigorous and exacting; the traditional method comprises two processes—initial and refined—with over ten steps.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Ninghong tea craft centers on Xiushui county town and the tea districts of Zhajin and Manjiang. Because Xiushui sits at the center of nine counties across Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi, the craft traveled north along the Yangtze to Jiujiang and west into the Mufu Mountains of Hunan. Each tea house developed its own style in light withering, heavy rolling, and full fermentation; the exact tightness of the strips and degree of fermentation were passed orally from master to apprentice, and since the Qing dynasty transmission has largely relied on Ninghong families and tea-house apprentices generation to generation.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship · Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship · Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Over more than 200 years, the craft has been passed down through generations by family, master-apprentice, and social transmission. For years, the inheritors, relying on tea-production enterprises, have actively conducted training activities in variety protection, productive preservation, cultural dissemination, brand promotion, and talent cultivation. At present, the county has 118 tea enterprises with about 70,000 employees. The history of the Ninghong tea craft's transmission and development is closely tied to the modern fate of the nation and people; related tea-picking songs, tea-picking operas, tea poems, tea songbooks, and tea-tasting culture emerged accordingly, holding significant historical and cultural value.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Chang 05-2849
- Zhang Chengren 05-2850
- Lin Hong
- Yu Danhua
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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