# Shanxi: inventory and research for seven collections

Researched on 4 October 2026. This is an artistic brief, not evidence of an already completed generation. The map is a visual source; its captions and geographical placement are not automatically accepted as verified facts.

## Inventory of the source map

Wutai Shan; Datong; Yungang Grottoes; Hengshan and Hunyuan; Hanging Temple; Yingxian Wooden Pagoda; Taihang/Luliang Mountains; Yellow River and Hukou Waterfall; Taiyuan, Jin Memorial Temple; Loess Plateau with yaodong houses; Pingyao Ancient City; Qiao and Wang Family Compounds; Tea Road with camel caravan; Iron Oxen at the bridge structure; southern green terraces with the caption Shangdang Tea. The last tea motif is not accepted as evidence of local Camellia plantations: in confirmed sources, the industry of plant substitutes, including forsythia, is noticeable.

## Verified tea contexts and limitations

**Trade:** the official route of the Shanxi Cultural Heritage Administration, published by the Jincheng administration, connects the Taihang passes, Yincheng/Dayang, Zhaoyu/Qixian, Qiao family, Yuci Chang family, Taigu, Daizhou, Yanmen/Shahukou and the northern trading towns (S2). Additional state material records the list of historical sites of the tea route (S3). We depict imported tea bales, weighing, leaf inspection, a merchant's counting table and the northern exit of the caravan; we do not invent a local technology for pressing all export tea.

**Herbal beverages:** Lingchuan officially describes production from forsythia leaf (S4), and the State Forestry Administration describes the industry in Tunliu (S5). This is a herbal infusion, not a Camellia sinensis variety. The green terraces of Shangdang Tea on the map cannot be copied as tea gardens without verification. In the print we use a separate forsythia branch and herbal infusion, significantly smaller than the commercial tea subject.

**Excluded:** unconfirmed gardens Daizhou/Guangling, mandatory specific cultivars in monasteries, figures for length/exchange rate, legends about imperial healing. We do not mix Shanxi and Shaanxi: the name is only SHANXI. The historical merchant courtyard is a typological image, not an exact reconstruction of a banking document. Religious monuments do not become decoration for a tea-processing factory.

## Sources

- **S1** — [tea.travel — Shanxi](https://tea.travel/en/region/shanxi/). Read; unconfirmed gardens and processing details are not used.
- **S2** — [Jincheng Administration: Wanli Tea Road route](https://www.jcgov.gov.cn/dtxx/sxyw/202608/t20260802_2377006.shtml). Published route of the provincial heritage protection authority; merchant centers and passes.
- **S3** — [State portal: Shanxi Tea Road sites](https://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2016-10/12/content_5117830.htm). Historical tea trade sites within the province.
- **S4** — [Linchuan Administration: forsythia leaf](https://www.lczf.gov.cn/xxcj/202305/t20230522_1798493.shtml). Separate botanical raw material and modern processing.
- **S5** — [State Forestry Administration: Tunliu](https://www.forestry.gov.cn/c/www/dfdt/564175.jhtml). Herbal infusions, not confirmation of ordinary tea plantations.

## Seven compositional solutions

- **C1 — Tea constellation:** Two-color merchant courtyard: bale, scales, abacus and guest tea.
- **C2 — Big letters — tea worlds:** SHANXI turns into a trading city with tea activities at the letters.
- **C3 — Tea Territories:** A coherent geography of trade: the southern pass, the Qixian courtyard, the northern caravan.
- **C4 — Illustrated atlas:** A large merchant courtyard and a narrow wooden pagoda hold the architectural atlas.
- **C5 — Parade of landmarks:** Outline procession of trade goods, camels, and monuments of varying scales.
- **C6 — Travel lines:** Ascending caravan path and descending waterfall create a dynamic composition.
- **C7 — Based on real cups:** Nine major episodes in simple outline; local forsythia infusion is separated from imported tea.

## General parameters

English only. C7 contains only the main title; C1–C3 allow short verified captions. Native RGBA 3840 × 1280, significant elements in x60–3780/y110–1170; final central export 3840 × 1152, 250 × 75 mm. No mockup, opaque background, or fixed empty-space ratio. Regional palette: #3A3C49, #B28A39, #797356, #A85A4C, #739C9F. C1 uses the first two inks, C2–C3 all five, C4–C7 the first three. The reference defines the manner, not the transfer of Guangdong subjects.