Shaoguan Tea Heritage — A Millennial Legacy from Tang Dynasty

Tea cultivation in Shaoguan dates back to the Tang Dynasty (733–804 CE), when the “Tea Sage” Lu Yu recorded in The Classic of Tea that “tea from Shaozhou tastes extremely good.” For centuries, the Yao ethnic minority has preserved wild tea picking rituals and traditional processing techniques. Today, four local tea-making methods are recognized as intangible cultural heritage of Shaoguan.

Period	Event	Source
Tang Dynasty (c. 789 CE)	Lu Yu praises Shaozhou tea	The Classic of Tea
Ming Dynasty	Renhua Baimao Tea created	Local gazetteer
Qing Dynasty (Jiaqing)	Renhua Baimao Tea becomes imperial tribute	Renhua County Annals
2011	Northern Guangdong Tea-Picking Opera inscribed as national ICH	China ICH website
2014	Renhua Baimao Tea granted GI protection	AQSIQ announcement

• 🎭 National ICH: Northern Guangdong Tea-Picking Opera (2011)
• 💃 Provincial ICH: Tea Flower Lantern Dance (Nanziong, 2018)
• 🍃 Municipal ICH: Luokeng Black Tea, Lechang Yanxishan Tea, Renhua Baimao Tea, Ruyuan Yaoshan Tea

Explore the living traditions that have been passed down through generations.