Fuding's tea culture thrives: Red tea and white tea blend harmoniously in the Maritime Fairyland.

　　Walking into Fuding, you’ll find 200,000 mu of tea gardens scattered across the rolling hills and mountains.

　　The Tang Dynasty's Lu Yu, in his "The Classic of Tea," records: "Three hundred li east of Yongjia lies Mount Baicha." Historical research confirms that the "Mount Baicha" mentioned here refers specifically to Fuding as the birthplace of white tea, with its production primarily concentrated in areas such as Bailin, Diandou, Panxi, Xuncheng, Dianxia, and Tongshan. Among these regions, Bailin, Panxi, and Diandou stand out as Fuding's three major tea-producing zones. Since the Qing Dynasty, these areas have been renowned for crafting premium teas, using varieties like Fuding Dabai Tea and Fuding Dahao Tea as their key raw materials.

　　The birthplace of Fuding Da Bai Tea and Fuding Da Hao Tea—Diandou Town

　　Fuding's history of white tea production dates back to the Sui Dynasty. In the late Ming and early Qing periods, the renowned Fujian scholar Zhou Lianggong explicitly recorded in his "Min Xiaoji" that "Mount Taibao is home to Lüxueya tea." At the beginning of the Republic of China era, Zhuo Jianzhou, in his "Taibao Shan Quan Zhi," noted that "Lüxueya—now commonly known as Baihao—is unparalleled in both flavor and aroma, with those harvested from Hongxue Cave considered the finest of all…"

　　During the 1957 Fujian tea tree variety survey, a cluster of wild ancient tea trees was discovered in the Taibao Mountain area. Notably, the renowned Green Snow Sprout wild ancient tea tree grows precisely near Hongxue Cave—the legendary site where the goddess Taibao practiced her cultivation. The raw materials for Fuding white tea, "Fuding Dabai" and "Fuding Dahao," were originally transplanted from Taibao Mountain. Meanwhile, the Green Snow Sprout ancient tea tree, officially listed by Fujian Province’s Greening Committee as a "historic and famous tree," stands as a true "living fossil," bearing witness to the very history of white tea production.

　　When it comes to Fuding white tea, one can’t help but mention Diandou Town. Nestled in the northern section of the Tai’emu Mountains, Diandou is surrounded by both mountains and sea, featuring rolling hills, fertile soil, moderate temperatures, and abundant rainfall. As early as 1988, the town’s Da Bai tea and Da Hao tea were officially recognized as Hua Cha No. 1 and Hua Cha No. 2, respectively, listed in China’s "Collection of Superior Tea Varieties." Today, the town boasts over 30,000 mu of tea gardens—by far the largest among all townships in Fuding City.

　　In 2007, Diandou Town established the Diandou Tea Industry Development Leading Group and the Guanyang Tea Project Leading Group to effectively coordinate efforts in areas such as building tea-growing bases, tea-processing facilities, and tea distribution markets. Following this, through the joint efforts of Yongxiang Tea Factory, Hongxing Tea Factory, Taifu Tea Factory, and Xinming Tea Factory in Diandou Town, the town successfully transformed 20,000 mu of tea gardens in key production areas—including Daping, Wengxi, and Bailiu—into high-quality, pollution-free tea farms. This initiative made Diandou the city’s largest-scale demonstration base for pollution-free tea production, with nearly 1,000 mu of these farms already certified as organic tea gardens.

　　Bailiu Village in Diandou Town is located in the southwestern part of Fuding and serves as the original home of Fuding Dabai Tea and Fuding Dahao Tea—making it one of Diandou Town’s key tea-producing villages. With over 100 years of tea-growing history, Bailiu Village nestles gracefully within a valley, surrounded by picturesque, gently rolling mountains. During the vibrant spring season, when flowers bloom and the weather turns warm, the hillsides burst with life as lush tea gardens stretch across the landscape. As of now, the village is home to more than 500 households, each proudly cultivating tea plants—or even just tea seedlings—right outside their doors and along their property lines.

　　One of Fujian's three great Gongfu teas—Bailin Gongfu

　　"Bailin Gongfu" is a Fuding Gongfu black tea, named after its main production area—Bailin in Fuding. It was once regarded alongside "Tanyang Gongfu" from Fu'an County and "Zhenhe Gongfu" from Zhenhe County as one of the "Three Great Gongfu Teas of Fujian."

　　According to "Fuding Cultural and Historical Records," the tea used to produce "Bailin Gongfu" is grown at the foot of Mount Taibao, with tea gardens spread across hilly terrain situated at elevations between 650 and 850 meters. Mount Taibao lies along the East China Sea, boasting steep, towering peaks and a warm, humid climate characterized by abundant rainfall. During spring and summer, white mist often shrouds the mountains in the early mornings and late evenings, while the soil—rich, acidic, and gravelly—is highly fertile and remarkably capable of retaining moisture.

　　"Bailin Gongfu" flourished around the 1850s and has since enjoyed a history of approximately 160 years. This renowned tea is produced in the Bailin and Hulin areas. Notably, the main production area, Bailin Town, is situated in the central part of Fuding City, bordering land-based towns such as Diandou, Panxi, Dianxia, Qinyu, as well as Zhaoyang Township in Zherong County. Back then, tea merchants from Fujian and Guangdong provinces used Bailin as a major distribution hub, actively sourcing high-quality red strip teas from regions like Bailin, Cuijiao, Shifanxi, Huanggang, Hulin, and even from Pingyang and Taishun in Zhejiang Province. These teas were then meticulously refined according to unique, specialized processing standards before being exported far across the seas.

　　Initially, "Bailin Gongfu" was crafted using Fuding's local Cai tea, with meticulous attention paid to the tenderness of the fresh leaf material—early and tender harvesting were essential. Otherwise, if the buds and leaves grew too large, the finished product would have a coarse, loose appearance and a weak, bland flavor, significantly compromising its quality. During the initial processing stage, special care was taken to carefully control the degree of withering, enhancing the tea's vibrant freshness and crispness. Additionally, a precise combination of light and heavy rolling techniques was employed, ensuring timely extraction of the well-formed buds and leaves to preserve their delicate white tips. Finally, the fermented leaves were first dried over low heat before undergoing a double re-roasting process for optimal flavor development.

　　However, in the early 20th century, the Chen family from Zhulan Tou, Diandou Town, Fuding City, replaced the original small tea variety with Fuding Dabai tea. Since then, the Fuding "Hemaozhi" tea brand has fully utilized the characteristics of Fuding Dabai tea, carefully selecting tender buds and leaves to produce Gongfu tea. The tea has tightly twisted, slender, and delicate strips, containing abundant orange-yellow white hairs, with a fresh and pleasant aroma of fine hairs. Its liquor and leaf base are bright red and glossy, which is why it is also called "Juhong," meaning "orange-red," referring to its bright orange-like color.

　　Compared to the golden age of "Bailin Gongfu," when Bailin Town’s Old Street boasted a bustling scene with 36 tea shops lined up end-to-end, today reporters visiting Bailin rarely spot active "Bailin Gongfu" workshops—or even businesses. Instead, the town’s former glory can now only be glimpsed through the magnificent ancient residences of Cuijiao. According to a local guide, Cuijiao Ancient Residence is a traditional home built in the 10th year of the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong reign. It seamlessly blends the unique structure of the Weishi Hakka earthen buildings with the elegant white-walled, gray-tiled architectural style typical of Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. The residence features a three-section courtyard layout and took an impressive 13 years to complete—costing an astonishing 640,000 taels of silver. Interestingly, the original owners of Cuijiao Ancient Residence were the Wu family, who made their fortune by trading "Bailin Gongfu." Remarkably, the residence itself once served as both the family’s tea-processing factory and warehouse. Even today, visitors can still find a vintage wooden tea grinder preserved within the historic home, standing as a testament to the family’s storied tea-making legacy.

　　It is particularly important to note that the site of the former Bailin Primary Processing Factory is now located in Kangshan Village, Bailin. The original factory featured a brick-and-wood structure with a distinctive four-sided courtyard layout and an open-air pavilion at its center. Its entrance gate was designed as a traditional mud-plastered building, complete with elegantly curved eaves. Above the central archway of the gate, a five-pointed star was prominently sculpted, while the words "Bailin Primary Processing Factory, Fujian Provincial Branch of the China Tea Corporation" were inscribed on the facade. Tragically, the gate was severely damaged during Typhoon Saomai in 2006. Today, the villagers living in the area have repaired the gate using cement and even painted over the original brickwork on the right side of the structure, completely altering its historic appearance.