Baoshan

Baoshan is where China first grew coffee on a large scale. In the hot, dry valley of the Nujiang river, below the Gaoligong Mountains of western Yunnan, farmers have grown arabica since 1952, at about 25°N, north of the tropics where coffee usually grows. In 2010 Baoshan arabica became a protected origin, and its growers have since turned from cheap beans to speciality coffee.

The short version

• Since 1952, in the Lujiang valley of the Nujiang.
• 25°N, outside the tropics, in a dry, hot valley.
• 600–1,900 m; only coffee from 1,000–1,500 m may carry the GI mark.
• Jasmine, citrus blossom and osmanthus, in its GI description.
• Over 20,000 tonnes a year; up to a fifth of Yunnan’s output.

What does Baoshan coffee taste like?

Floral. Its geographical-indication description, from China’s AQSIQ register, gives notes of jasmine, citrus blossom and sweet osmanthus, and calls the coffee mellow, rich and smooth, with a fruity acidity and “not overly bitter”. Local officials describe it as “strong but not bitter, aromatic yet smooth, with a mild fruity acidity”, China Daily reports.

A coffee valley outside the tropics

Baoshan lies at about 25° north, beyond the Tropic of Cancer, the Chinese Academy of Sciences notes; its coffee does well thanks to the dry, hot climate of the Nujiang valley. In the village of Xinzhai, in Lujiang, five weather stations from 760 to 1,640 metres recorded:

Measure	Xinzhai, 2019–2020
Annual rainfall	324 mm at 760 m; 602–645 mm above 978 m
Rainy season	July to October
Annual mean temperature	17.3–22.4 °C
Extreme temperatures	0.2–40.4 °C, nearly frost-free

Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences case dataset, 2021.

That is far drier than the 1,200–2,200 mm of the world’s main arabica areas, the study notes, so water is the growers’ main challenge. The coffee flowers in the dry season, fills in the rains and is picked from October to April.

Altitude and varieties

Baoshan’s plantations range from 600 to 1,900 metres, China Daily reports, and a Yunnan provincial standard of 2012 allows only coffee from 1,000–1,500 metres to carry the Baoshan arabica GI mark. In Xinzhai, Catimor 7963 grows mostly below 1,000 metres and Typica above it; about 64% of the village’s coffee is below 1,000 metres, and the study suggests the low plantations may be phased out for other crops. The valley is especially suited to Typica and Bourbon, China Daily says, and Geisha is on trial on high farms, 36Kr reports.

How much coffee does it grow?

Year	Area	Output	Source
2019	9,067 ha (8.7% of Yunnan)	20,300 t of green beans	Chinese Academy of Sciences
2024	Over 130,000 mu (about 8,700 ha)	Over 20,000 t a year	China National Intellectual Property Administration

Baoshan contributes up to 20% of Yunnan’s output, China Daily reported in 2025. Its speciality-grade share rose from 40% in 2022 to 70% in 2024, the Baoshan Coffee Industry Association said, and 95% of its sales are now online.

A short history

Large-scale planting began at Lujiangba, in Lujiang, in 1952, when Yunnan’s tropical crops research institute brought coffee to the valley; large areas were planted in Lujiangba, Baoshan and Dehong in the 1950s to repay Soviet loans and supply Soviet and Eastern European markets, 36Kr reports. Baoshan arabica gained geographical-indication protection in 2010 and joined the China–EU list of protected names in 2020. Xinzhai, where coffee covers 12,000 of the village’s 13,632 mu of farmland, calls itself the “No. One Coffee Village in China”.

Baoshan and other Chinese origins

• Coffee in China: the whole country, its output and its history.
• Pu’er: China’s biggest coffee area, in southern Yunnan.
• Coffee in India: Asia’s other big arabica grower.