Tian Xin Yan

Tian Xin Yan - literally 'Heaven's Heart Cliff' - is the most historically resonant location in Wuyi rock-tea country. It is the area surrounding Tian Xin Yongle Temple, near the legendary mother bushes of Da Hong Pao that grow on the rock face at Jiulongke. Tea grown in this central Wuyi zone is the original 'zheng yan' (true cliff) tea, and the temple's monks are traditionally credited with much of the development of rock-tea processing.

Tian Xin Yan is not an estate in the corporate sense - there is no fenced perimeter, single owner or named factory. It is a geographic and cultural designation for the cluster of cliffs, ravines and small tea gardens around the Yongle Temple in the heart of the Wuyi protected area. Tea bushes here grow in pockets of weathered sandstone soil between cliff walls, where mist sits in the valleys for much of the year and direct sun reaches the leaves only briefly.

The mother bushes of Da Hong Pao - six remaining plants on the Jiulongke cliff - are by far the most famous in the Wuyi range. They have not been commercially harvested for many years; the 'Da Hong Pao' on the market today is produced from cuttings (chun zhong) propagated from these bushes, or from blends of yancha cultivars made to evoke the original profile. Real Tian Xin Yan tea, regardless of cultivar, is prized for a deep mineral 'yan yun' (rock rhyme) - a long, cool aftertaste that producers in less central parts of Wuyi struggle to replicate.

The surrounding monastery has been a centre of tea cultivation for centuries and is still active.

Signature teas

• Da Hong Pao (mother-bush lineage)
• Tian Xin Yan Rou Gui
• Tian Xin Shui Xian

Certifications

Wuyi Rock Tea Geographical Indication

Visiting

The area is inside the Wuyishan UNESCO scenic reserve; trails pass directly below the Da Hong Pao mother bushes.