TEA, the most ordinary of beverages, was once so highly prized that traders, travelers and seafarers risked their lives to bring the precious cargo from China to the rest of the world. 

    Now, a small but growing band of tea aficionados is traveling across the country in pursuit of tea at its source, fueled by an appreciation of China’s ancient tea culture and traditions. For tea enthusiasts interested in taking a tea tour, here we introduce a list of tea plantations in Guangdong where you can see with your own eyes how tea is planted, plucked and made.

    Yearning Tea Plantation 

    in Meizhou

    Yearning Tea Plantation, the first National 5A Tourism Destination in eastern Guangdong, is situated in Meizhou, the hometown of well-known Chinese communist general Ye Jianying. It is home to over 2,000 tea plants and 14 villas.

    The green rows of tea plants stretching into the horizon are sure to win the hearts of shutterbugs. At plantations where these fields abide, you can check out how tea farmers pick tea leaves as well as stage countless picturesque photos. 

    Besides, you can also indulge yourself in Hakka culture. Inside the plantation you will find Weilong Hotel, Weilong Restaurant, food court, tea art house, Xiancha Pavilion, swimming pools and tennis courts. For its excellent construction work, Weilong Hotel was awarded the national construction engineering honor, the Luban Prize, by the Ministry of Construction of China in 2005.

    Add: Changjiao Village, Yanyang Town, Meixian District, Meizhou 梅州市梅县区雁洋镇长教村

    Phoenix Mountain 

    in Chaozhou

    Chaozhou is recognized by some as the capital of gongfu tea, and tea ceremonies are very popular and well preserved here. Everywhere you go in the city, you will see local people serving tea to their guests or family members. The custom’s ubiquity is strongly related to the fact that nearby Phoenix Mountain is abundant in famous tea plants.

    Located in Chaozhou, Phoenix Mountain is famous for its rich resources of tea cultivars (strains of plant species with desirable characteristics). Up to date, there are more than 80 cultivars. Each cultivar can grow up to a few meters in height and produce tea with a distinctive flavor profile.

    In April, especially near the sixth solar term called Guyu (Grain Rain), the mountain is dotted with women plucking tea leaves. You can easily encounter tea-leaf plucking women wearing a large bamboo hat and with a bamboo basket around her waist busy with her work.

    During this time of the year, the mountain is enveloped by a unique tea fragrance. When the tea-making machine at every household starts to work, the fragrance is sure to inebriate tea lovers.

    Like good wine, tea’s final flavor is influenced heavily by terroir — the microclimate in which it’s grown. Thanks to the large difference in temperature between day and night and the long sunshine duration on the top of the mountain, the tea produced on the mountain tastes highly agreeable.

    Add: Phoenix Mountain, 37 kilometers to the downtown of Chaozhou City 潮州市北37公里处凤凰山

    Jiqingli Black Tea Valley 

    in Qingyuan

    Located in Hengshitang Town, Yingde City, the Jiqingli Black Tea Valley has been listed among the “Top 10 Beautiful Tea Gardens in China.” Covering an area of over 15,000 mu, the valley mainly produces Yinghong No. 9 black tea.

    The tea valley is sitting right next to the Shimentai National Natural Reserve where you can have close contact with nature while treating yourself to a luxurious rural feast with a bamboo forest, tea-covered mountain, bubbling brooks, and green rice terraces.

    Apart from the lush tea shrubs, there is also a black tea exhibition hall where you can get to know more about black tea culture and related stories. Besides, you can also check out the ruins from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) in Jiqingli.

    Add: Jiqingli Black Tea Valley, Hengshitang Town, Yingde City, Qingyuan 清远英德市横石塘镇积庆里红茶谷

    (Chen Xiaochun)