Nantou Taiwan is a central Taiwan county, Taiwan’s second largest and only isolated region. Nantou is mountainous and has a low population density. The county borders several other tea provinces, including Taichung to the north and Chiayi to the southwest.
Nantou is Taiwan’s leading tea region, producing over 12,000 tons (11,000 tons) of tea annually; most of the medium quality tea The region also has two mountains, Tung Ting, which means frozen peak, and Shan Lin Xi, where high quality oolongs are grown. Tea has been grown here since the mid 19th century; an earthquake in 1999 stopped some of the production, but later the region fully recovered.
The region is also important for tea processing due to its central location. Teas produced in other regions are sent here for processing. Although best known for oolongs, the region produces a small amount of black tea, including Sun Moon Lake tea, which is grown around the lake of the same name (日月潭 or Ri yue tan in Chinese).