Day 7, Wednesday morning in Hangzhou

West Lake
and the Dragon Well Tea Plantation

Photo by Lucie Field

Wednesday morning after breakfast, our bus took us to West Lake, a beautiful lake in Hangzhou and also a busy tourist spot, not just for foreign visitors but a popular destination for Chinese people also. It was crowded and foggy/hazy so once out on the tour boat there was not a lot to see.

On shore there were buildings and pavilions and the landscaping was very attractive and maybe an afternoon visit would have been better.

We then headed up into the nearby mountain area southwest of West Lake. The village of Longjing is nestled up in a mountain valley and is famous for its Dragon Well Tea - the "Empress of Green Tea" - which it has been growing for more than one thousand years.

Longjing means Dragon Well. According to an ancient legend, a dragon lived at a well in the village and the villagers believed the dragon controlled the rainfall. Climate-wise, the area is perfect for growing tea and the whole village seemed to be involved in this occupation.

The tea is picked twenty or thirty times between March and October and the best and most expensive tea comes from the first few pickings.

All the tea picking is done by hand and an experienced tea picker can pick about nine thousand tea leaves in a day. The tea is then spread on bamboo mats to dry for several hours. It takes about 30,000 leaves or shoots to make one pound of tea.

We could see people picking the leaves as we drove up to the tea plantation. We passed hundreds of tea bushes along the hillsides and the whole valley was a beautiful green. We also passed the village. Down at the bottom of the valley there was a footpath that appeared to go all the way up the valley following the road and winding through the village.

As we entered the Dragon Well Tea complex, the first thing our tour guide showed us was a man tossing green tea leaves in a hot wok. After the tea leaves are first dried, they are tossed in a wok heated to about 80 - 100 degrees centigrade. The leaves are tossed using the bare hand and this takes about ten to fifteen minutes. Then the leaves are spread out to dry and cool before going back in the wok a second time at a lower temperature.

We were ushered into the Dragon Well Tea building and taken upstairs to a small room to hear all about tea. We were all seated around a long table and were each given a glass. Then a basket full of tea leaves was passed around and we were all told to put two big pinches of tea into the glass. Then hot water was poured over the leaves.

We were told that local people speak of "eating their tea" rather than drinking it. The leaves are chewed and swallowed rather than being strained out before drinking the tea.

We were also told that green tea leaves are more delicate than black tea leaves and water should be boiled first and then allowed to cool slightly before poured over the leaves. After you have "eaten" the green tea you can continue to pour hot water over the tea leaves and have one or two more cups of tea.

Black tea has been fermented and one should pour boiling water over the leaves and then discard the water from this first brewing and pour more boiling water over to make the tea for drinking. This process cleans the fermented leaves.

A very knowledgeable and bubbly lady told us all this and a lot more about tea, especially the Dragon Well green tea, while we all sat and ate or drank our tea. We then were given the opportunity to buy three different grades of tea - the best being one of the first pickings and the most expensive. Most of us bought some tea to take home. It was packed very tightly in boxes and cannisters and then taped shut so the tea would not end up all over our suitcases.

Photo by Lucie Field

Pickers with their baskets walking back to their homes after picking tea leaves.