Landscape

In the busy modern society, the fast-paced lifestyle has made us miss out on many beauties and joys. The emergence of tea spaces with a focus on aesthetics provides us with an opportunity to slow down and explore and enjoy another way of life. Located in the Yun Valley Innovation Park in Baohe District, Eleven Tea House is such a tea space that combines tea and aesthetic living. It presents a natural setting amidst very modern architecture, integrating culture, refined gatherings, and tea events in one place. It infuses traditional culture and the concept of tea plus aesthetics into modern life, allowing more people to discover the beauty of life. The founder of the tea house, Guan Xiaobao, was once a landscape designer. He became involved with tea by chance. "Drinking tea is a way to enjoy life and should not be constrained by the environment. I hope to create a space where everyone interested in tea can brew tea in their own preferred way. Ten signifies completeness, from the very beginning." Speaking about the origin of Eleven Tea House, founder Guan Xiaobao said this. Upon entering Eleven Tea House, the words “Luzhou Light” illuminated by the lights catch your…

A gentle breeze sweeps over the central-western part of Raoping County in Chaozhou City, where the vast sea of tea plants in Fubin Town stretches as far as the eye can see, undulating along the mountainside, and the tea fields are filled with a fresh aroma. Following winding mountain roads, the verdant tea trees gradually merge with the blue sky and white clouds, painting a beautiful summer landscape. Recently, relevant leaders of the Chaozhou Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee led a group of deputies to the people's congress and representatives from related departments to conduct the "Green and Beautiful Chaozhou - Deputies in Action" themed activity in Fubin Town, Raoping County, and Fenghuang Town, Guilu Town in Chao'an District. The focus was on a special investigation into the handling of key proposals concerning "Cultivating Tax Sources in the Tea Industry to Promote Fiscal Revenue Growth." During the event, the deputies were constantly on the move, gaining a comprehensive understanding of tea production and sales, tea tax revenue, quality control, brand promotion, and tea plant protection through site visits, listening to reports, and holding symposiums. They actively collected public opinions and fully leveraged their roles as people's congress deputies to empower…

"Great is the abundance, and thus the snow reaches its peak." Today marks the third solar term of winter – Heavy Snow. Heavy Snow has officially arrived. The pages on the calendar are dwindling down. A sharp chill always greets you at dawn. Opening the window reveals a bleak and desolate landscape. Hot water is being heated on the stove. A teapot sits on the table. Draw the warmest future imaginable on the windowpane. This is the ritual of Heavy Snow in winter. During the "Heavy Snow" season in the north, snow and tea whisper to each other. You come quietly with a pot of hot tea. Wear a cotton jacket and have a snowball fight. Step into the snow and listen to the crunching sounds. When tired, retreat indoors. The fire crackles and pops. Heavy Snow is silent. The stories buried by the snow melt away in the warmth of tea. A snowfall, a cup of tea. You are in the heavy snow of a cold northern night. I am basking in the warmth under the bright southern sun. Brew a good pot of tea and enjoy the warmth of winter. After enjoying the sun during the day, the…

When I shout with all my might, It echoes throughout the mountains, And it is you who awakens, In the world of grasses and trees. —From "Grasses and Trees Amongst Us" As spring deepens, tea regions are bustling with activity. The release of "Grasses and Trees Amongst Us" during the tea season seems to have received mixed reviews. However, for tea enthusiasts, there are many commendable aspects. This film, set against the backdrop of Hangzhou's Longjing tea landscape, is filled with tea elements in its plot and details. Tea lovers would have noticed this. Moreover, the names of characters, scenes, and the storyline are all poetic. Behind the poetic tea ambiance lies a harsh and cruel social reality—the terrifying pyramid scheme scams and countless family tragedies! Every Tea Element is an "Inside Joke" It cannot be denied that director Gu Xiaogang understands tea, or at least has done his homework thoroughly. Each tea element in the film is an "inside joke." 01 Grasses and Trees Amongst Us: The character for "tea" split apart means "person among grasses and trees" The title "Grasses and Trees Amongst Us" itself refers to tea. "Tea is a fine tree from the south." "The character…

The Chinese nomination project "The Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape of Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er" was approved during the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, and has been added to the World Heritage List as China's 57th world heritage site. Below, let's explore through a series of posters the World Cultural Heritage Site The Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape of Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er Credit: Publicity Department of the Pu'er Municipal Committee Photography for the posters: Zhang Cheng, Zhao Jiaqi Design of the posters: Huang Jin, Bao Ziqian

Green lines, water surfaces, garden appearance, slow paths, skylines… wherever people go, there is scenery everywhere. Swallow-tail ridges, white walls red tiles, red bricks, and stones, etc. Minnan traditional materials integrated with modern architecture in an organic combination. A strong sense of nostalgia greets you. Nestled in Longjuan Township, at an altitude of over 800 meters on a tea mountain, Zhongmin Wei's Tea Estate is free from the hustle and bustle and urban air pollution. There is only a gentle spring breeze and the rare tranquility and peace. As the designated tea for the State Council’s General Office, the "Five-Star Ecological Tea Garden of the Nation," it is often shrouded in mist, with suitable lighting and plenty of diffused light. The geographical location, climate, and hillside soil are very suitable for the growth of Tieguanyin. Due to its large scale, the ecological environment is well-preserved. The tea estate is acclaimed as one of the largest in Anxi, of the highest specification, and with the best natural ecological environment among Tieguanyin tea estates. Most of the tea fields are developed in low valleys between peaks and the mid-sections of hills, retaining the original vegetation at the tops and bottoms of the…

It's that time of year again for spring tea, and the season for picking has arrived as scheduled. In the Cloudy Tea Sea of Banjiazhai Village, Mengtong Town, thousands of acres of tea mountains have become a beautiful landscape. The tea garden has fully entered its peak picking season, and the tea farmers are busy picking the tender new shoots. The mechanized tea garden "Cloudy Tea Sea" in Banjiazhai Village covers 506 acres. Based on the low-yield tea garden renovation in 2014 and the standardization of tea gardens in 2016 and 2017, an organic tea garden certification project was implemented in 2021. This project aimed to construct high-yielding and stable organic tea gardens with standardized and regulated management. It also explored and promoted the dual-bonding mechanism of interests linkage through "party organization + enterprise + cooperative + base + farmer." A uniform purchase price of 2 yuan per kilogram was set for fresh leaves from the public, ensuring that the income of tea farmers would not decrease. The average per-acre benefit for tea farmers increased from 2,000 to 3,000 yuan before the tea garden renovation to around 5,000 yuan. The tea trees have become a source of wealth and prosperity…

The He Kai ancient tea mountain is located in the Menghai County, Menghun Town, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, with an overall altitude ranging from 1,400 to 1,700 meters. The most distinctive feature of He Kai is that “the tea grows among the trees, and the villages are nestled within the tea gardens.” It is the largest contiguous area of ancient tea gardens in Xishuangbanna Prefecture, covering over 16,000 mu (approximately 1,067 hectares) with more than 2.3 million individual ancient tea trees. There are many villages under the jurisdiction of the He Kai Village Committee, including Manmai, Manlongxin and Manlong old village, Mantuan, Guanggang, and others. Among these, Manmai is at the highest elevation in the He Kai ancient tea garden and is considered to have the best quality and be the most representative village. The He Kai ancient tree tea is characterized by its sweet, rich, and full-bodied flavor upon entry into the mouth, strong tea essence, and powerful wild mountain notes. Overall, the taste of He Kai ancient tree tea is more balanced—it is not as bitter as Laoman'e nor as dominant as Lao Banzhang, making it highly acceptable and cost-effective. He Kai literally means “the place where the sun is…

Recently, affected by a strong cold air front, temperatures in Guangdong have dropped significantly, with some areas experiencing snow, ice, and freezing conditions, especially in the northern tea regions of Renhua, Lechang, and Lianshan, where "icicles" have appeared. To minimize the impact of low temperatures on tea production, reporters from Nongcun Nanfang Daily and the Southern Tea Channel contacted experts from the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences Tea Research Institute, the National Tea Industry Technology System Qingyuan Comprehensive Test Station, and the Guangdong Tea Industry Technology System to provide advice for tea farmers on how to implement effective frost protection measures for their tea plants, thus strengthening prevention and ensuring the safety of tea production. Impact of Frost Damage on Tea Plants After suffering from frost damage, tea plants may exhibit symptoms such as discolored and dried leaves, dead branches, and trunks. This can also delay the sprouting of spring tea, leading to reduced yield and quality, which affects economic benefits. Symptoms of frost damage in tea plants Care for Frost-Damaged Tea Plants 1. Care for Dormant Tea Plants Affected by Frost: For varieties with good cold resistance, timely drainage is needed to prevent repeated freeze-thaw cycles that can damage…

In early winter 2018, we held a tea gathering in front of the Mogao Caves, titled "Glimmering Light - A Visionary Experience." The tea practitioners scooped up the sand from Mogao and placed it into a glass hourglass. As the hourglass was turned over, the tea ceremony began. Water was poured, tea liquor extracted, served, and sipped. We did not invite many people; just a few tea lovers who had traveled far to sit with us in the desert. The transparent glass frames held tea notes, with sand and wind swirling outside, and the corners of the tea practitioners' robes and their footsteps. The tea wasn't scalding hot, but it still warmed us. Thinking about this tea, I returned again. Yangguan – Flickering Fires in the Wind I've been to Yangguan several times, each time bringing tea and a pot of wine. Zhao Wen carried her zither, saying she would play "Three Stanzas of Yangguan" there. On a clear winter day, the wooden walkway on the Gobi Desert was empty. The brown-red Gobi was protected by the boardwalk, the sandy and gravel ground layered deep and shallow, extending all the way to the horizon. Within these layers, air currents made…

Pu'er tea is most intriguing due to its transformation, from raw to ripe, from new to aged, constantly evolving and painting a rich landscape of the Pu'er world. We often see the results of this transformation easily, such as the change in infusion color to orange-red or the emergence of plum, fruity, and woody aromas. But where do these flavors come from? What changes are occurring within the Pu'er tea? Let’s take a look together. 1 Dry Matter Loss During storage, there are many reasons for dry matter loss in Pu'er tea. Pu'er tea consumes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide; some proteins and amino acids deaminate and release ammonia; pectic substances decompose and release methanol; certain organic acids are oxidized and release carbon dioxide, among other reactions. In the storage process, hydrophilic colloids in Pu'er tea undergo decomposition. The water that was originally bound with the colloidal substances becomes free, leading to a “self-moistening” phenomenon in stored Pu'er tea. As this self-moistening occurs, water-soluble colloidal substances in the tea may undergo hygroscopic dissolution (this is particularly noticeable when storing Pu'er tea with low maturity). All of these factors contribute to dry matter loss. During storage, the amount of dry matter…

Drinking tea is a common practice for adults. However, in daily life, we rarely see children drinking tea. Many parents allow their children to drink regular soft drinks and carbonated beverages but seldom permit them to drink tea. Zhu Haiyan, Director of the Horticultural Culture Research and Dissemination Center at the College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Hunan Agricultural University, explains that there are two main reasons why we seldom see children drinking tea in everyday life. Firstly, children do not like the bitter taste of tea. More importantly, people believe that tea has a certain stimulating effect which may be detrimental to children's growth and development, potentially harming their spleen and stomach. In fact, these views are one-sided. "Scientifically speaking, drinking safe and hygienic tea, without consuming it too strong, can bring many benefits to children," Zhu Haiyan says. Firstly, moderate tea consumption helps to reduce fat and promote weight loss. According to relevant surveys, more than one-fifth of school-aged children in major cities in China suffer from varying degrees of nutritional excess, leading to numerous cases of obese children and those with high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, severely affecting their physical and mental development. The…

Along with the rise and fall of Liubao tea industry, the ancient tea ship route has gone through phases of formation, prosperity, dormancy, revival, and decline, leaving a splendid chapter in China's tea transportation history. The ancient route is vast and time has passed slowly. The development of the Liubao tea industry has undergone changes over several hundred years, and the tea ship route has also gone through a long journey from its formation to prosperity, dormancy, revival, and decline. Today, the Liubao tea industry is experiencing a comprehensive revival, but the ancient tea ship route mostly remains as traces of the past. However, there is no doubt that in the course of history, this ancient route, which coexisted with Liubao tea, has written a unique and splendid chapter in China's tea transportation history. The name "Tea Pavilion" can be seen on a map of Cangwu from the 32nd year of the Kangxi era (1693) of the Qing dynasty. 1. The "Annals of Cangwu County" compiled during the Tongzhi era of the Qing dynasty contains records about Liubao tea. 2. On the attached map of Cangwu County in the "Annals of Cangwu County" compiled during the Tongzhi era of the…

Jingmai Mountain has become intertwined with us. Time and again, we have made the journey up the forest-lined cobblestone path, delving deep into the mountain’s fabric. We have counted the towering green trees of Dapingzhang that reach towards the sky, contemplated beneath the Bee God Tree, stood in solemn silence before the golden pagoda bathed in morning light, and felt a profound sense of awe as we pondered its ancient history. Ai Wen, Ai Ken, Yan Kan... familiar names and vivid faces are imprinted on our hearts. Every person we met on our trips through the tea mountains presented us with a new facet of this place. We welcomed many sunrises amidst the misty clouds from the terraces of their modern homestays, which seamlessly blend living spaces. And we listened to the simple stories, little known to outsiders but shared openly with us, told with heartfelt sincerity. Over time, this tea mountain has moved from being a picturesque rural landscape to a place of refuge within our hearts. Bit by bit, these experiences have resonated like echoes, much like those heard in an echo chamber, responding to the glittering lights of the city. This is the bond that the editors…

Menghai boasts a superior reserve of tea resources. The region encompasses expansive, fertile plains such as Mongzhai, Monghun, Menghai, and Monga, along with continuous mountain ranges. Each mountain is covered with trees, and every ravine has water, making it a verdant home. Tea mountains are scattered throughout, adding vibrant color to the landscape. Menghai County is rich in ancient tea tree resources, which include wild, cultivated types, and related species. Ancient tea trees can be found across all 11 towns in the county, mostly at altitudes between 1,300 and 2,060 meters, in areas with excellent natural ecological conditions. They are distributed in places like Laobanzhang and Laomane in the Bulang Mountain Township, He Kai in Monghun Town, Manxi in Daluo Town, Hesong, Manmai, and Zhanglang in Xiding Township, Pasha and Pazen in Gelande Township, and Nanuoshan, as well as Huazhuliangzi, Banglong, and Sanmai in Mengsong Township. These ancient tea gardens are concentrated and contiguous, with trees over 2 meters tall, strong growth vigor, gray-white trunks, and most have mistletoe and birdlime. Eco-friendly tea garden (photographed by Qiu Kaibei) The tea resources of Menghai not only include wild and cultivated ancient tea trees but also high-quality tea gardens cultivated after the…