# Henan: exploration and seven compositions Preparation date: 4 October 2026. The original regional map was reviewed visually; its painterly conventions are not considered geographical evidence. ## Inventory of the source map In the south, Xinyang: tea rows, two pickers, a leaf; Dabie Mountains. Funiu and Xiong'er Mountains in the west, Mount Song and Shaolin Temple in the center. Longmen-like rock niches and a pagoda near Luoyang. Yellow River, Huai River, Danjiangkou Reservoir; a bridge near Zhengzhou, a fortress/village to the north; cave dwellings, a water wheel and fields near Anyang. Captions: Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Xinyang, Nanyang, Jiaozuo, Xinxiang, Kaifeng, Shangqiu, Anyang. The map generalizes northern dwellings for tourism; tea production is shown specifically in the south. ## Confirmed tea base Henan tea production is concentrated in its southern hills. Xinyang Maojian is a fine green tea, with Shihe a core district and the Dongjiahe tea mountains an established origin. Its craft includes spreading, pan fixation/rolling, shaping and drying. Guangshan, Shangcheng and Xinxian are real tea-producing areas in the wider Xinyang region; Tongbai is a distinct southern Henan tea area. Xinyang Hong is black tea, not the same processing as Maojian. Never place tea plantations across the northern Yellow River plain or grow tea among the Longmen carvings. Shaolin, Kaifeng and Luoyang are cultural travel motifs, not asserted tea estates. ## Limitations and interpretation Do not present all tea.travel names as separate confirmed regions. Do not depict tea on the arid northern plain. The Shaolin and Longmen landscapes are a cultural part of the mixed C4–C7, without invented tea-drinking by historical figures. The precise forms of monastic architecture are stylized; do not claim documentary reconstruction. ## Sources - [tea.travel — Henan](https://tea.travel/en/region/henan/) — Reviewed Shihe, Five Clouds, Shangcheng, Tongbai and mixed route. - [Henan Culture — Maojian craft](https://hct.henan.gov.cn/2023/06-10/2758909.html) — Detailed stages of manual processing in Shihe. - [Henan Government — Xinyang](https://www.henan.gov.cn/2023/05-24/2748555.html) — Confirmation of regional tea production. - [Henan Government — Guangshan](https://fgw.henan.gov.cn/2024/05-09/2988555.html) — Local tea work of Guangshan. - [Henan Government — Xinxian](https://www.henan.gov.cn/2022/05-17/2449912.html) — Xinxian tea industry. - [Henan agricultural development](https://xcoss.henan.gov.cn/typtfile/20250822/ce2c4f621b4640f68ba4aaadaeec7d9a.pdf) — Shangcheng, Xinxian, Tongbai, Tongbai tea brands. ## Seven independent solutions ### C1: Maojian in the master's hands Large hands and fine leaves reveal southern Henan tea. The pan is large and low, counterbalanced by tall finely engraved tea shoots left of the title. Pan rim, garden contour and farmhouse eave establish a shared curved movement. Keep clear spaces between fingers and between hill layers. The regional title sits above the quiet central valley. ### C2: Southern Mountains in Letters A strict inscription connects five producing districts. Use the short five-letter title to allow generous scale for the hands and baskets. A single rural roofline threads the lower letter feet with low terraces returning behind. The processing pan projects closest at one end, and the small final tea garden recedes. No separate framed origin badges. ### C3: Amphitheater of Southern Tea The Dabie Mountains unfold as a stage for picking, processing, and tea drinking. The courtyard is an open irregular breathing space between hill contours, not a cream polygon. Large near tools, medium people and far tea rows provide strong depth. The lower condensed HENAN follows a low slope. Five locality labels integrate with the relevant banks and roof edges. ### C4: Tea and the memory of stone Delicate tea leaves meet the monumental culture of Henan. A curved cultural ridge connects tea veranda, monastery roof and rock alcove as an interpretive travel collage. Avoid depicting fields on the carvings. Tall serif title occupies the saddle between high stone and foliage. Fine meaningful rock cuts contrast with smooth porcelain and the thin needle leaves. ### C5: From basket to old town A warm procession of people, tea, and historical silhouettes. A varied low-high-low procession surrounds the double-contour HENAN title. The harvest basket is much larger than the ferry; temple and tea table overlap through an open garden path. Three inks, clear walls and transparent arches give the drawing the warmth of a well-made travel cup. ### C6: Path of the thin leaf The movement of the hand leads the eye from the tea mountains to the cultural centers. Slanted HENAN spans the central pause above the path. Crisp oblique hatching describes basket weave and stone edges, with unpainted water/sky. Keep the large hand and thin leaf gesture visually strong; the cultural landmarks are smaller distant discoveries. ### C7: Southern tea and northern memory Nine simple scenes from the map and tea life. The single upper serif HENAN rests between the tall temple and tea sprig. Make the shaping pan notably larger than the ferry and link only neighbouring close pairs. Irregular open glaze separates the rest. No chessboard placement, continuous mountain fill, pictogram medallions or extra lettering. ## Production format Generation: 3840 × 1280 px, PNG RGBA, true transparency. Drawing and letters fully within x60–3780 / y110–1170. Final print spread: 3840 × 1152 px, 250 × 75 mm. English only, no microtext or Chinese. C7 contains only the region name. C1 — two colors; C2/C3 — five; C4–C7 — three. The palette is individual for each region. Visual verification and the fact of generation are not implied by the presence of this study.