Tea, A Sip of History
From delicate fresh white tips to decades-aged Pu'erh, the flavors of Chinese teas are as diverse as the regions in which they are grown. Tea culture in China has been developing for thousands of years and is an integral part of the Chinese culinary experience.
Spend a Shanghai afternoon indulging your pallet, or plan a longer trip to one of CHina's famous tea growing regions.
Sample Ideas
Shanghai Tea Tours
Imperial Tea Tasting and Shopping Tour - Learn about the historical and geographic factors that make each tea unique while you sip them at a traditional tea house. After drinking your fill, take a stroll through the French concession to buy tea ware and fresh tea leaves from local sellers with our bilingual expert at your side.
Day Trips From Shanghai
Dragon Well
– China’s most famous tea – Dragon Well – is grown just over an hour outside of Shanghai in the picturesque mountains of Hangzhou. On this tour we will introduce you to the tea farmers, hike into fields and explain how the tea is grown and processed, and visit the Dragon Well itself. We’ll also sit down at a local tea shop and learn how tea is prepared.
Home Style Farmhouse Cuisine – For a taste of truly authentic Chinese food, on this tour we visit a local farmer’s house. We can walk right into the kitchen and choose our ingredients. They serve big bowls of soup made with free range chicken, all sorts of vegetables you can’t find in the city, as well as all of Hangzhou’s specialty dishes including braised pork and vinegar fish. While we wait for our food, we will gaze out on Hangzhou’s tea covered mountains.
Organic Chinese Cooking Class – The organic food industry is just beginning to take off in China. On this tour, we’ll visit a small organic food store in the countryside of Hangzhou. Their friendly staff will teach you how to prepare simple, healthy Chinese food using fresh, organic vegetables from the nearby area. You’ll prepare soup, 3-4 meat and vegetable dishes, and fresh soy milk. They will also be happy to you about how food production is evolving in China.
Home Style Farmhouse Cuisine – For a taste of truly authentic Chinese food, on this tour we visit a local farmer’s house. We can walk right into the kitchen and choose our ingredients. They serve big bowls of soup made with free range chicken, all sorts of vegetables you can’t find in the city, as well as all of Hangzhou’s specialty dishes including braised pork and vinegar fish. While we wait for our food, we will gaze out on Hangzhou’s tea covered mountains.
Organic Chinese Cooking Class – The organic food industry is just beginning to take off in China. On this tour, we’ll visit a small organic food store in the countryside of Hangzhou. Their friendly staff will teach you how to prepare simple, healthy Chinese food using fresh, organic vegetables from the nearby area. You’ll prepare soup, 3-4 meat and vegetable dishes, and fresh soy milk. They will also be happy to you about how food production is evolving in China.
Dragon Well 2-Day Trip – If you are in no hurry, spend the night in a tea village situated beside the Ling Yin temple. Almost the entire community is made up of local Longjing tea farmers and our accommodations are modern and comfortable. Spend the next morning exploring the botanical gardens by bicycle, returning for lunch at an all-organic Chinese restaurant in the village. Enjoy afternoon tea on the West Lake in an historic Qing Dynasty villa, then take a boat tour of the lake and islands before heading back to Shanghai.
Multi-Day Tea Adventures
White Tea and Bamboo Forests – Best known for the breathtaking scenery featured in the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, the bamboo forests of Anji truly are a remarkable site. Beginning with the discovery of wild white tea plants by local villagers in 1982, Anji has also become known as the source of the world’s best white tea. Just 65km from our stop in Hangzhou, a visit to Anji is a natural addition to your dragon well tour. Visit in the morning before heading back to Shanghai, or let us arrange a homestay for you in the tea village.
Follow the Ancient Tea Horse Road – One of the oldest trade routes in Asia, the Tea Horse Road is the rugged set of roads and paths on which bricks of tea were transported from southwestern China into Tibet and horses were brought back in return. The natural aging process that happened during this arduous journey led to the development of the famous Pu-erh teas that are so popular today. While the Tea Horse Road stretches more than 4,000km over some of the highest mountains in the world, you can choose to travel as much or as little of it as you like. Our experienced guide will be with you every step of the way to fill you in on local history and of course arrange for plantation visits and tea samplings.
Follow the Ancient Tea Horse Road – One of the oldest trade routes in Asia, the Tea Horse Road is the rugged set of roads and paths on which bricks of tea were transported from southwestern China into Tibet and horses were brought back in return. The natural aging process that happened during this arduous journey led to the development of the famous Pu-erh teas that are so popular today. While the Tea Horse Road stretches more than 4,000km over some of the highest mountains in the world, you can choose to travel as much or as little of it as you like. Our experienced guide will be with you every step of the way to fill you in on local history and of course arrange for plantation visits and tea samplings.