Song Zhong Dan Cong, also known as “Song Tea,” gets its legend from the second year of the Jingyan era in the Southern Song Dynasty (1278). At that time, Emperor Zhao Bing of Song was fleeing and passed by Wudong Mountain. Overcome with thirst, his attendants picked fresh tea leaves from the mountain for the emperor to chew on. Not only did the tea instantly quench his thirst, but it also revitalized the emperor, prompting him to bestow upon it the name “Song Tea.” Legend has it that the ancient tea trees from which these leaves were harvested still grow on Fenghuang Wudong Mountain today, serving as the ancestral tea of modern Fenghuang Dancong tea.
Origin of Song Zhong Dan Cong
Fenghuang Wudong Mountain is located in Chaozhou, Guangdong, and is a representative region for Fenghuang Dancong high-mountain tea. Wudong Mountain is the second highest peak of the Fenghuang Mountains, with a maximum altitude of 1,391 meters. At the summit lies a heavenly lake formed by an ancient crater, covering an area of 40,000 square meters with a year-round, endless supply of spring water. The Wudong Mountain tea area spans approximately 3,333 hectares, surrounded by mountains on all sides and shrouded in mist and clouds throughout the year. This unique natural environment provides exceptional growing conditions for Fenghuang Dancong tea.
Ancient Tree Resources of Song Zhong Dan Cong
Wudong Mountain and its surrounding areas boast abundant ancient tea tree resources, with some trees dating back several centuries. The original ancient tea tree grew beside a giant boulder in Liziping, Wudong Mountain, at an altitude of over 1,000 meters. This old tea tree was once revered as a sacred tree, though it withered in 1928. Today, there are still four old-cluster tea trees on Fenghuang Mountain bearing the name “Song Zhong”: Song Zhong No. 1, Song Zhong No. 2, Song Zhong Mixiang Dancong, and Song Zhong Zhilanxiang. These ancient tea trees serve as the mother plants for many of today’s Fenghuang Dancong teas and hold significant importance in the development of Fenghuang Dancong.
Song Zhong No. 1
Also known as Tuan Shuye, Daye Xiang, Yanshang Zhen, and Huangzhixiang, Song Zhong No. 1 is the oldest surviving tea tree in the local area, standing at an impressive 5.8 meters tall. It is considered a natural hybrid descendant of the Wudong Mountain Fenghuang Narcissus population variety, growing in Liziping Village on Wudong Mountain at an altitude of about 1,150 meters, with an age of approximately 600 years. This old cluster was propagated through cutting, forming the asexual propagation line of Song Zhong No. 1, which has since been extensively planted throughout Fenghuang Mountain.