Inheritor dedicated to passing on Pu'er tea making technique

Li Xingchang, a 70-year-old man from Ning'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County, Pu'er city, southwest China's Yunnan Province, has devoted himself to passing on the making technique of Pu'er tea.

Making gongcha, or Pu'er "tribute tea," has been on the national intangible cultural heritage list since 2008. Li Xingchang is a provincial-level inheritor of the craft.

Pu'er tea, a type of fermented tea, is named after the city. In 2022, the item "Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" was added to the intangible cultural heritage list of the UNESCO. Pu'er tea-making is one of the 44 items included.

Li Mingze makes tea under the guidance of Li Xingchang (left). (Media convergence center of Ning'er county)

Li Xingchang learned how to make Pu'er tea from his mother Kuang Zhiying, who spent much of her money buying the management rights to nearly 100 mu (6.67 hectares) of an ancient tea garden. Kuang wanted her children to protect the tea garden and inherit the craft.

Making quality Pu'er tea is an elaborate process of 72 steps, including withering, fixation, and rolling, with the entire process lasting 36 days.

Li Xingchang has established a workshop aimed at passing on the making technique of Pu'er tea, and worked with the vocational school of Ning'er county to set up a Pu'er tea training base. So far, he has trained over 10,000 people.

What delights Li Xingchang is that his son Li Mingze is learning how to make Pu'er tea from him. "Applying the Pu'er tea-making technique is the best way to inherit it," said Li Mingze, who hopes to inject new impetus into the traditional tea-making technique in the new era.

To Li Xingchang, the inclusion of the making technique of Pu'er tea in "Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" can be attributed to the inheritance of the technique over thousands of years.

"What has been passed down is not just elaborate tea-making skills, but more importantly, every tea master's devotion to continuously improving and innovating," Li Xingchang said.