Zhangjia Sandui Tea Plantation in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna

Zhangjia Sandui Village(章家三队村)

Zhangjia Sandui Village is located at Bulangshan Town(布朗山乡) of Menghai County(勐海县) in Xishuangbanna, a mountainous area. Zhangjia is a Dai name, Zhang means “can, be able to”, while Jia means “balcony”, so the whole name is meaning “be able to make balconies ”. The villagers of the Zhangjia Sandui Village used to serve for the ruler, and they were skilled in making balconies.

Covering an area of 9.85 km², Zhangjia Sandui Village is situated in the south of Bulangshan mountain, 18 KM away from the Bulangshan Town, with an elevation of 1100 meters. The annual temperature is 18-21℃, average precipitation is 1,374 mm annually, so this is a good place to plant crops, such as rice, tea and so on.

Chinese Name: 勐海章家三队茶区
English Name: Zhangjia Sandui Tea Plantation in Menghai County, XishuangBanna
Keywords: Zhangjia Sandui Tea Plantation in Menghai County, XishuangBanna Menghai attractions, tea culture tour, what to visit in Menghai
Location: Located at Zhangjia Village of Bulangshan Town in Menghai County, XishuangBanna
Admission Fee: Free
Opening Hours: All the day
Website: http://www.ishuocha.com/baike/zjsd/

Descendants of Pu people, Bulang Village（濮人后裔，布朗村寨）

Zhangjia Sandui Village is divided from Zhangjia Laozhai Village(章家老寨) in Bulang mountain(布朗山). Bulang ethnic group used to living in the basin of Lanchang River , they are the descendants of Pu people, which is the first one to find wild tea and utilize it, also it is the earliest one to cultivate tea, so they are called "ancient tea farmers".

The Tea of Zhangjia Sandui Village

The price of the tea in Zhangjia Sandui is much more expensive compared with the general tableland tea. We used to consider the level of tea processing, when the price of the tea in Zhangjia Sandui Village was cheap. There was a widespread words, “Tea with a Bulang flavor”, that was the smell of cigarettes, of burnt food. The taste was awful, we just hoped that it could improve a lot when we come next time. The Tea of Zhangjia Sandui Village was called “Xiaobanzhang(小班章)”. In 2014, old comrade Bulang, he used the fresh tea of an ancient tea tree in the Zhangjia Sandui tea area to make compressed tea. Although the smell of the compressed tea is not so good as “Laobanzhang”, it has its elegant flavor. “Laobanzhang” is a kind of heavy bitter tea, after a long time steeping, you can not feel its astringency, so as your mouth can not feel the constriction, on the contrary, you can get a feeling of sweet and pleasant. While the tea of Zhangjia Sandui Village is also heavy bitter tea, you can feel its bitter, but the mellow taste with a little constriction feeling will back to your tongue immediately.

Since 2000, the concept of small producing areas was becoming popular. “Dabanzhang tea producing area” which was the core area of producing top-quality Pu’er tea in Menghai, was pushed forward to the stage, as a result, the price of the tea made in Zhangjia Sandui was becoming higher. The first tea factory, Menghai Runyuanchang Tea Factory(勐海润元昌茶厂)，was built by Guangdong tea merchants in Dabanzhang area. This factory is just next to Zhangjia Sandui Village.

Menghai Runyuanchang Tea Factory(勐海润元昌茶厂) kept a good relationship with villagers of Zhangjia Sandui Village, when tea harvest time coming, in order to save time, the local people will send the well-quality tea to the factory, as well as sweet white gourd and pepper. After the price going up, the villagers had a stable income, they seldom went out to do work for others, many of them stayed in village to cultivate tea. Tea mountain, tea factory, tea merchants and planter get on well with each other.

Attraction Transportation:
We can take a shuttle bus from Menghai County to Bulangshan Town, then we need to transfer a local mini-bus to go to Zhangjia Village.

Attraction Travel Tips:
· Best season to travel: March - May