A flat green tea called Long Jing – “Dragon Well” may have different origins; there are not only Zhejiang, but also Sichuan, Taiwan, and generally non-Chinese analogues of the famous tea. But for more than a decade, the name “Long Jing” has been geographically protected, and de jure, Long Jing can only be called the tea from the north of Zhejiang province, from the vicinity of the city of Hangzhou, where this variety originated. According to the industry standard GB/T18650-2008 “Geographically protected product Long Jing tea“, its geo-protection area is divided into three production zones: Xihu production zone, Qiantang production zone, and Yuezhou production zone.

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1. 1. 1. The Xihu Production Zone occupies the Xihu District of Hangzhou City and is in turn divided into production areas or protected areas of the first and second categories. This separation was established in 2001.

         Scheme of the Xihu District of the Hangzhou City District. Red indicates the approximate location of the production area of Xihu Long Jing of the first category.

         

         Scheme of the production area of Xihu Long Jing of the first category.

         The area of the first category is the birthplace of Long Jing. It includes the traditional production locations of Xihu Longjing, located in the so-called Xihu Lake Scenic Area, or Xihu Lake Landmark Area.

         The protected area of the second category includes locations within the Xihu District of Hangzhou City. There is also a division of the Sihu production zone into three parts – eastern, western, and southern. The eastern one is the historical production area of Long Jing. The western and southern ones are new and began to be actively developed after 1985. The climate here is mild, the average annual temperature is about 16 ° C, the amount of precipitation is more than 1500 mm per year, the lighting is scattered, the soil is slightly acidic, the soil layer is deep, the drainage is good, there are many streams and frequent fogs.

         Favorable natural conditions promote the growth and development of tea bushes and determine the high quality of tea. The Xihu Industrial Zone accounts for 10% of Long Jing’s geo-protection area. Only such Long Jing has the formal right to be called Xihu Long Jing.

      2. The Qiantang zone accounts for 30% of the entire Long Jing from its geo-protection area. Tea from the Qiantang zone has no formal right to be called Xihu Long Jing, it should be called Qiantang Long Jing.
      3. The Yuezhou zone accounts for 60% of the entire Long Jing from its geo-protection area; thus, paradoxically, most of the authentic Long Jing is not from Hangzhou. Tea from the Yuezhou zone does not have the formal right to be called Xihu Long Jing, it should be called Yuezhou Long Jing.

         By the early 1920s, the concept of the “four great signs” of Long Jing was formed: “lion”, “dragon”, “cloud” and “tiger”. At that time, these were trademarks, each of which had its own recognizable handwriting. Later, these “signs” evolved into designations for the geographically determined styles of the Long Jing. “Lion” Long Jing – from Shifengshan, “Lion’s Peak”, including Hugong Temple, Qipanshan, and Shantianzhu.Shifeng Long Jing is characterized by strong pan frying, hence a yellow-green color, which is sometimes compared to the color of unpolished rice. Its aroma is clean, strong, and very persistent, with a clear bean hue, and the taste is sweet and rich.

         Shifeng Long Jing is highly valued. You can often see diagrams in which the outer circle represents Long Jing in general, inside it – Xihu Long Jing, inside Xihu Long Jing – Long Jing from the production area of the first category, in the very center – Shifeng Long Jing, and the center of this center – tea from the bushes imperial garden at Hugong Temple.

         “Dragon” Longjing comes from the area of Longjing village. In terms of its natural properties at the beginning of the 20th century, it was comparable to “lion’s” tea, but the skill of pickers and roasters was somewhat lower.

         After the formation of the People’s Republic of China, it was customary to divide the Long Jing into three “brands” or “signs” – into “lion”, “dragon” and “plum” (Meijiau). Gradually, Meijiau, a village with more than six hundred years of history and beautiful scenery, became the leader in terms of the production of Long Jing. Long Jing from Meijiau is characterized by a bright emerald green color, strong fresh aroma, and taste.And now there are five main parts of the Xihu Longjing production area of the first category – “lion”, “dragon”, “cloudy”, “tiger” and “plum”. Their boundaries are not officially fixed, so on different diagrams, you can find slightly different options for the location of these parts.

Of course, most of the tea sold under the name of “Long Jing” has nothing to do with the listed locations. The production volumes of Xihu Long Jing are small – no more than 500 tons per year (perhaps only the region of the first category is meant), of which Shifeng Long Jing is about 100 tons.

Prices for Xihu Long Jing of medium quality are usually in the range of 300 – 1,100 USD per 1 kg. The price of Xihu Long Jing of the highest quality (having won any awards, for example) can be ten times more.