Anxi traditional handicraft

As oolong tea is made of mature bud leaves, it belongs to semi-fermented tea, and it needs boiling water above 95℃ for brewing.

Oolong tea making skill is a local traditional handicraft skill in Anxi County, Fujian Province. History shows that during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty (1723- 1735), tea farmers in Anxi County absorbed the principle that black tea was completely fermented and green tea was not fermented, and combined with the reality of Anxi Tieguanyin, they created a unique "semi-fermentation" tea-making process for oolong tea and Tieguanyin tea, and adopted a flexible "look at the green" according to different seasons, climates and fresh leaves.

The origin of oolong tea (Tieguanyin) production technology includes the beautiful legends of "Oolong Hunting" and "Oolong Prince", as well as "Wei Shuo" and "Wang Shuo" which are well known to women and children. The traditional production techniques of Anxi oolong tea were mainly distributed in Xiping, Huqiu, Lutian, Gande and other towns in the early Qing Dynasty, and spread all over the country in the late Qing Dynasty.

The traditional production technology of oolong tea (Tieguanyin) is becoming more and more prosperous, and the production technology is becoming more and more mature. From the initial foot rubbing and hand twisting, it has developed into three links: picking, primary processing and refining. The primary production includes ten processes, such as sun drying, rolling and drying. The refining part includes six processes, such as screening, baking and packaging. Now it has developed into a competition for the benefit of the people.

On June 7th, 2008, the production technology of oolong tea was approved by the State Council and included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.