Shanghái: get to know the Longjing tea
Three times a year, the traditional harvest of China’s most famous tea – Longjing, also known as Dragon Well – takes place in stunningly beautiful Hangzhou, near Shanghai. Not far from the city centre, among the hills of the village of Longjing, the bucolic landscape contrasts with the urbanity of nearby Shanghai. Visiting the original home of Longjing (aka Dragon Well) tea has become something of a pilgrimage. In a country where the custom of drinking tea is deeply entrenched, this is the place where its most famous variety is grown.
Meijiawu Tea Village (one of the least touristy local plantations) features a high street full of tea shops and traditional restaurants, which attract numerous visitors from all over the country, even in low season. Image credit: Robin Mas.
The ZhuZhu tea house is located in Meijiawu. Some customers travel from as far as Shenzhen (near Hong Kong, in China’s far south) just to pick up supplies of Longjing tea. Image credit: Robin Mas.
In the shops you can buy bulk supplies of tea, while restaurants offer regional dishes such as prawns with Longjing tea leaves, all before the colourful backdrop of hillsides covered with tea plants. Image credit: Robin Mas.
In April, when Longjing is harvested, 20 workers enter the rows of bushes to harvest the leaves by hand in shifts that last up to 12 hours. Image credit: Robin Mas.
Leaves have to be harvested while they’re fresh. Tea leaves harvested on one day are no good the next, which is why the teams of pickers start to load trucks at 6 o’clock this morning. Image credit: Robin Mas.
Although green tea has (theoretically) three harvest seasons (spring, summer and autumn), the period of the Qingming Festival (5 April this year) is when there’s the most activity in the area. Image credit: Robin Mas.
Usually, growers wait for the weather to be warm enough for the plants to begin budding – the longer these are, the higher the value of the tea – and, at their freshest, Longjing leaves can fetch nearly €1,000 per kilo. Image credit: Robin Mas.
In China’s National Tea Museum, located on Longjing Road, posters describe the health benefits of a cup of tea, including its anti-ageing properties. Image credit: Robin Mas.
In China’s National Tea Museum, located on Longjing Road, posters describe the health benefits of a cup of tea, including its anti-ageing properties. Image credit: Robin Mas.
Visitors can take an expedition through the birth and evolution of the culture of tea in China from ancient times to today, with the help of all kinds of manuscripts and objects related to this beloved plant. Image credit: Robin Mas.
Depicting scenes from Tibet, Sichuan and eastern China, the museum shows how a love of tea is common to all the country’s regions and ethnic groups. Image credit: Robin Mas.
The museum also houses five traditional teahouses and a tasting space – one of the main attractions of the tour. Image credit: Robin Mas.
While the teahouses charge about €11 for a cup of tea, the main store offers free tastings, something that contrasts with the many shops in Longjing, where sellers stop cars and tourists in the street. Image credit: Robin Mas.
This statue of Buddha changes colour when hot liquid is poured on it. Watching the deity transform itself, while holding a fragrant cup of Longjing in a museum dedicated to tea and surrounded by hundreds of plants and green hills, it’s easy to see why China has been intoxicated by this drink from the ‘Dragon Well’ for centuries. Image credit: Robin Mas.
Meijiawu Tea Village (one of the least touristy local plantations) features a high street full of tea shops and traditional restaurants, which attract numerous visitors from all over the country, even in low season. Image credit: Robin Mas.
