第五章：一個世界，一杯黃鶴樓茶

1

在漢口硚口區(qū)崇仁路與京漢大道的交會處，“漢口茶市”四個字十分醒目，這里是中南地區(qū)最大的茶葉市場。

“漢口茶市”四個字下面寫著1858。這個數(shù)字，總能讓人的思緒追溯到漢口茶市最為繁榮的時候——漢口江邊坐落著大大小小的碼頭，搬運工們的汗水落在青石板上，將一擔又一擔的茶葉裝上船。在離江邊不遠的漢正街，人聲鼎沸，商販絡(luò)繹不絕，小小的街道旁都是各種賣茶商鋪……

“Hankou Tea Market” etched in bold calligraphy is located at the intersection of Chongren Road and Jinghan Avenue, a downtown area in Qiaokou District of Hankou. It is the largest tea market in central and southern China.

Underneath the Chinese characters of the “Hankou Tea Market” is engraved “1858,” a year that harkens to mind the glory days of the Hankou Tea Market. There were many ports in Hankou, small ones and large ones alike, lining the shores of the river. Drops of salty sweat fell upon the stone road from the porters’ faces as they loaded crate after crate of tea onto ships by bamboo poles hoisted upon their sinewy shoulders. Along the famous Hanzheng Street, where tea-shops lined both sides of this narrow cobblestone avenue not far away from the Hankou beach of the Yangtze River, a cacophony of human voices mixed with the metallic clinking and clanging of cargo being brought on deck, as endless streams of street vendors flew in and out of the scene like the river waters it nestled up against.

如今，在距有名的漢正街僅一百米距離漢口茶市，同樣是武漢市的一塊“黃金寶地”，古今景象卻大不相同——白天，這里是繁忙的交易場所，批發(fā)出的茶葉散向荊楚大地和江西、安微、湖南、河南等地；夜晚卻成了休閑的泡茶場所，每家店的門口都支起小桌子，悠閑的市民從四面八方來到這里聊天品茗，匯集成了武漢市的一道風(fēng)景。

這里聚集了近五百家茶葉商鋪。夜幕下，家家霓虹閃爍：安溪鐵觀音、西湖龍井、洞庭碧螺春、君山銀針、信陽毛尖、臺灣凍頂烏龍、人參烏龍等等，幾乎各國各地所有的名茶在這里都能買到。

The Hankou Tea Market, situated only about 100 meters away from Hanzheng Street, is a treasured center of fortune in contemporary Wuhan, but the scene was vastly different in the old times. By day, it was a busy trading hub that wholesaled tea to Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Henan and other areas. By night, it transformed into a mild and leisurely tea haven, with every store outfitted with small tea displays set out on tables, where people from all over would sit together basking in the glow of the languid atmosphere; sipping and confabulating. This constituteedd a typical street scene of Wuhan at tthhee time.

Nearly 500 tea shops converged here. Under the shroud of night’s darkness, every shop brightened the scene with a neon glow. Every kind of tea imaginable from all over could be purchased here, including Tieguanyin (also Kuanyin) Tea from An’xi, Dragonwell Tea from West Lake, Green Snail Spring Tea from Dongting, Silver Needle Tea from Junshan, Maojian Tea from Xinyang, Frozen Peak Oolong from Taiwan, Ginseng Oolong, and many more.

而幾乎所有這里的茶商，只要提起“張岳峰”這個名字，無不豎起拇指感嘆：“他簡直就是一個‘茶癡’??！”

武漢有三家比較大的茶市：武昌復(fù)興路的“陸羽茶莊”，漢口崇仁路的“漢口茶市”以及香港路茶市。其中香港路茶市是武漢市第一家專業(yè)的茶葉市場；崇仁路的“漢口茶市”則擁有“中南第一茶市”的稱號，年交易額占湖北省總交易額的一半；而“陸羽茶都”則被譽為華中地區(qū)茶葉商品流通貿(mào)易的“摩爾”，市場年交易額達23億多元。

這三家茶市都歸屬于湖北黃鶴樓茶葉公司。張岳峰是武漢黃鶴樓茶葉公司的董事長兼總經(jīng)理，也是這三家茶市的創(chuàng)辦人。

早在上世紀90年代初期，張岳峰擔任武漢市茶葉公司總經(jīng)理。那時正值計劃經(jīng)濟向市場經(jīng)濟轉(zhuǎn)變的時候，很多茶農(nóng)都是剛從大山里出來的“赤腳漢”，根本不懂怎么做生意，湖北的茶葉市場一度陷入混亂和低迷。

看著每年上好的新茶堆在茶農(nóng)手中變成澀口的陳茶，張岳峰心疼又心焦，他決心幫茶農(nóng)們改變這種處境。

在一次乘飛機出差途中，張岳峰恰巧與麥德龍一全球負責(zé)人鄰座。雙方一見如故，很快就熱絡(luò)地交談起來。在那個時代的中國，“超市”對于國內(nèi)來說還十分陌生，麥德龍搭平臺、做賣場的經(jīng)營思路頓時讓張岳峰茅塞頓開：“與其幫一個個茶農(nóng)尋銷路、賣茶葉，不如搭建一個專業(yè)的茶葉市場作為平臺，吸引客商前來。”

回來后，張岳峰克服重重困難辦完各種手續(xù)，終于建成香港路茶葉市場，并在三個月之內(nèi)完成全部招商。1997年，這個湖北省首家大型專業(yè)茶葉批發(fā)市場開業(yè)。一時間，香港路茶商云集，熙熙攘攘。

張岳峰，武漢黃鶴樓茶葉有限公司創(chuàng)始人Zhang Yuefeng, founder of Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower Tea Co., Ltd.

If the name Zhang Yuefeng was even mentioned in the area, almost every tea merchant would stop and give a big thumbs up, saying, “That man is a huge tea buff.”

There are three relatively large-scale tea markets in Wuhan today: “Luyu Tea City”on Fuxing Road, Wuchang, Hankou Tea Market on Chongren Road, and Hong Kong Road Tea Market. Hong Kong Road Tea Market was the first market specializing in tea in Wuhan, while Hankou Tea Market on Chongren Road earned the reputation of “The Number One Tea Market in South China,” with an annual trade volume that accounts for half of the total turnover in Hubei Province. Yet, Luyu Tea City enjoys the lofty title of the “wunderkind” of the tea trade in central China, as its annual volume was worth more than RMB 2.3 billion.

Every one of these three tea vendors belongs to the Hubei Yellow Crane Tower Tea Co., Ltd., whose Chairman and CEO is none other than Mr. Zhang Yuefeng, the founder.

At the dawn of the 1990s, Zhang Yuefeng was the general manager of the Wuhan Tea Company. During the time of China’s transition from planned economy to market economy, many tea farmers, who were “bare-foot with green hands” fresh out of the mountains, came to the Hubei tea market without a lick of business sense and trying to rely on their horse sense, turned it into a disaster.

Seeing the fresh tender tea leaves turned into piles of stale mulch in the storehouse due to bad sales, he felt distressed and anxious and he endeavored to change the situation and help the tea farmers.

While jet-setting on a business trip, Zhang Yuefeng just happened to rub elbows with the marketing manager of the global supermarket chain, Metro. The two were like a reunited set of twins who had been separated at birth—they felt an immediate kinship and sat chatting for hours. In the course of their conversation, an idea suddenly dawned on him to build a professional tea market that could attract customers and dealers by adopting the business philosophy of Metro and bringing the“supermarket” concept to his own business platform.

2005年，武漢市茶葉公司更名為武漢黃鶴樓茶葉有限公司，張岳峰擔任董事長兼總經(jīng)理。

“黃鶴樓”是武漢的一塊金字招牌，武漢以“黃鶴樓”冠名的煙、酒、茶相繼成為武漢的拳頭產(chǎn)品。黃鶴樓煙、黃鶴樓酒由來已久，而黃鶴樓茶這一品牌卻是新秀。為了不辜負“黃鶴樓”這個金字招牌，張岳峰大刀闊斧進行改革。

首先，武漢黃鶴樓茶葉公司通過設(shè)立規(guī)模門檻和技術(shù)標準門檻，整合全省乃至全國的茶葉資源，讓自有茶葉基地規(guī)模在300畝以上，有環(huán)?；?、機械化加工場所的茶企可以申請使用黃鶴樓茶葉商標，擴大漢產(chǎn)茶葉市場規(guī)模。

此外，在政府支持下，武漢黃鶴樓茶葉公司還投資建設(shè)50萬平方米的中國（國際）茶交易中心；在武漢市江夏區(qū)建成中俄萬里茶道新泰磚茶廠；在神農(nóng)架建設(shè)集種植、科研、加工、茶博院、休閑旅游等多功能于一體的茶祖印象園……

▲時任市長唐良智親臨黃鶴樓1861東方茶港旗艦店調(diào)研工作Former Wuhan City Mayor Tang Liangzhi visiting 1861 Oriental Tea Port Flagship Store of Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower Tea Co., Ltd.

▲張岳峰在參茶莊柜臺Intercultural exchange on tea between Zhang Yuefeng and foreign friends

In 2005, the Wuhan Tea Company changed its name to the Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower Tea Co., Ltd, with Zhang Yufeng serving as Chairman and CEO.

“Yellow Crane Tower” is an honored brand in Wuhan. Cigarettes, alcohol and tea, all carrying the brand-name Yellow Crane Tower are important and famous products in Wuhan. Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes and alcohol have a long history, but Yellow Crane Tower Tea is brand new. In order to live up to the Yellow Crane Tower reputation, Zhang Yuefeng instituted drastic reforms.

First, the Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower Tea Co., Ltd integrated its tea production base by upgrading the scale of operation as well as technology to make it a province-wide and even country-wide base of operations. The total area of his tea production base is larger than 49 acres. It allows environmentally friendly and fully mechanized tea processing plants to apply for usage of the Yellow Crane Tower brand, by which it has scaled up Wuhan tea in the tea market.

In addition, the Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower Tea Co., Ltd. has invested in many tea-related projects, including the construction of a 500,000 square meter International Tea Trading Center, establishing the Xintai “Sino-Russo Tea Road” Brick Tea Factory in Jiangxia District of Wuhan, and building a multifunctional tea god impression park with facilities for tea planting, research, processing, exhibition and entertainment.

2

漢口自古因茶而興。說起漢口乃至中國的茶歷史，張岳峰就像是一個活字典，可以信手拈來。而他對茶的喜愛，幾乎到了癡迷的程度。

他的辦公室里有一個專門用于茶葉烘焙的烘籠機，如果沒有人打擾，他可以一個人在辦公室一待就是一整天，潛心研究各種制茶工藝。

“別人出差，隨身的箱子里都是換洗衣服、生活用品，但張總的箱子里卻是茶壺、茶葉、茶書?！痹诠荆彩歉鷱堅婪宄鲞^差的人都知道，他可以一天不吃飯，但絕不可能一天沒有茶。

張岳峰愛茶成癡。

在位于漢口江灘的黃鶴樓“漢口茶港”里，400多平方米的營業(yè)區(qū)，除了黃鶴樓茶等各類知名茶品種和特色茶具外，還有一批反映近代漢口茶葉貿(mào)易和茶館文化的珍貴歷史照片和文獻，儼然一座近代漢口茶文化歷史博物館。工作人員告訴記者，這些都是張岳峰多年悉心收藏的成果。

門外，一座石碑面對煙波浩瀚的萬里長江靜靜地佇立著。碑上“中俄萬里茶道起點——東方茶港”幾個大字，記載著當時萬里茶路的輝煌。而這一石碑得以確立，離不開張岳峰的心血。

2013年3月23日，國家主席習(xí)近平訪問俄羅斯，在莫斯科國際關(guān)系學(xué)院作了《順應(yīng)時代前進潮流促進世界和平發(fā)展》的精彩演講，講演中他特別提到，17世紀的“萬里茶道”是連通中俄兩國的“世紀動脈”。

敏感的張岳峰立刻意識到，這對擴大湖北茶品牌影響力、弘揚湖北茶文化，是個難得的契機，而作為“萬里茶道”起點的漢口，理應(yīng)有所擔當。于是，張岳峰四處奔走，四處向人講述漢口老茶倉、中俄萬里茶道的故事，以期確立漢口成為萬里茶道起點。終于，歷經(jīng)近一年的努力，這一項目終于得到批復(fù)。

2013年12月29日，這塊近兩米高的紀念碑終于落成。

它掩映在綠樹之間、萬花叢中，毗鄰武漢防汛紀念碑和江灘老武漢風(fēng)情雕塑群，前有煙波浩瀚的萬里長江，后為武漢百年老建筑的沿江大道，在飄渺的藍天白云襯托下，顯得十分威武。

立碑那天，整個江灘熱鬧非凡，而張岳峰的心里更是異常激動。是啊，大江東去，一瀉千里，萬古流淌，漢口碼頭，百年滄桑,風(fēng)云激蕩。這塊石碑不僅是百年前漢口茶倉輝煌的幾年，更將成為漢口續(xù)寫輝煌的見證……

For the longest time, tea has allowed Hankou to prosper and Zhang Yuefeng is a living encyclopedia on the history of Hankou and Chinese tea, he is truly obsessed with it.

There is a machine for roasting tea at his office, and he can stay there immersed in his study of teaprocessing technology for a whole day if nobody interrupts him.

“When other people travel, they take a carry-on suitcase with a change of clothes, household items and daily necessities, but Zhang’s suitcase is always filled with teapots, teas, and tea-related books,” his colleagues all know he can go without food for a whole day, but can never go without tea for a day.

Zhang Yuefeng really loves tea. Strike that … he is crazy about tea.

The Yellow Crane Tower “Hankou Tea Port”is located on the banks of the Hankou River, and boasts a 400 square meter business area. Besides carrying every kind of famous tea imaginable and special tea sets bearing the Yellow Crane Tower brand, there are also valuable historical photos and documents recording modern Hankou’s tea trade and tea houses. The place is like a museum of Hankou tea culture and history. The staff there reported that those products have been meticulously collected by the hands of Zhang Yuefeng for years.

Outside, a stone tablet sits facing the vast Yangtze River blanketed by downy-white mist. It is a monument to the local tea industry, and etched into it are the following words, “Starting point of the Sino-Russo Tea Road—the Oriental Tea Port.” The tablet records the glory of the Tea Road. This tablet would never have been established without the efforts of Mr. Zhang Yuefeng.

On March 23, 2013, President Xi Jinping visited Russia and made an inspiring speech on “The Trends of the Times and Promoting Peace and Development in the World” at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the Tea Road of the 17th century was called “the most important link of the century.”

Zhang Yuefeng immediately realized the golden opportunity to expand the influence of the Hubei tea brand and promote the tea culture of Hubei. As the starting point of the Tea Road, it is only fitting that Hankou should play an important role. Zhang Yuefeng has related the stories of Hankou’s reputation as the great tea storehouse and stories of the Tea Road to people from all around to establish the position of Hankou as the starting point of the Tea Road. This project was approved after almost a year of effort.

On December 29, 2013, the nearly two-meter high monument was eventually set up, where it is nestled in between the groves, adjacent to Wuhan Flood Memorial and the old Wuhan sculpture groups at the river beach. In front of it is the vastness of the Yangtze River, and behind it is the Riverside Avenue lined up with century-old buildings. This monument looks enormous and mighty against the backdrop of misty blue sky and white clouds.

With the monument established that day, the entire river beach bustled with extraordinary energy. And Zhang Yuefeng’s heart undulated with joy. Yes, the great river flows east, the water rushes on, eternally flowing. The ports of Hankou, a hundred years and still counting, a thousand vicissitudes and still standing. This piece of stone is not only a testament to those few years of booming brilliance of the Hankou tea trade that happened a hundred years ago when Hankou’s golden years as the great tea storehouse were in full swing, but it will also bear witness to the many years of brilliance that are yet to come.

Chapter 5: The World of Yellow Crane Tower Tea

efeng completed the documents and

all the necessary permits upon his return, and ultimately established the Hong Kong Road Tea Market, by securing his needed investment within three short months. In 1997, the first largescale professional tea wholesale market opened in Hubei; in the blink of an eye, the Hong Kong Road Tea location was hustling and bustling.