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In our last blog we were in one of my favourite places : finding un- ending inspiration in Jingdezhen. We were now to continue our journey to Wuyuan - a stunning area with a long tea history. In ancient times this area was very famous for green tea - exporting large quantities of tea to Guangzhou (Canton). Our day started by rising early to take a little time to enjoy tea in the breeze on the river in Jingdezhen - pictured below on the left - before jumping in a taxi & heading to our destination...
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Photo above left : the river at Jingdezhen, Right : first glaces of Wuyuan
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Wuyuan County is located in the mountainous area of northeast Jiangxi, an beautiful area with perfect conditions for tea cultivation - we felt excited for the day ahead. We were here to visit an organic cooperative headed by a famous tea pioneer in this region : Mrs Yu. On arrival we are quickly ushered into the factory - it was a processing day....
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Wuyuan County is located in the mountainous area of northeast Jiangxi, an beautiful area with perfect conditions for tea cultivation - we felt excited for the day ahead. We were here to visit an organic cooperative headed by a famous tea pioneer in this region : Mrs Yu. On arrival we are quickly ushered into the factory - it was a processing day....
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Photos : in the factory observing the green tea processing
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....and the factory is alive with fresh leaf arriving and all the stages of green tea manufacture on display : Fixing Rolling Shaping & drying. 'This small factory is reserved for our special grades' Mrs Yu explains 'We just make special grades here - today the tea is low mountain green. The shape of the tea is like a mountain peak'
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After taking in the unique and captivating aroma as the fresh leaves become fresh green tea we take a walk deeper into the village, the clouds above threatening rain and the river extremely high from the very wet weather that had preceded our visit. It made for an atmospheric and magical walk.
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Photo : postcards from the tea village
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In the heart of the village we are honoured to be welcomed into the homes of two members of the cooperative here - first the head of the coop Mr Luo [pictured left below]. He shares with us how he is the first in his family to pursue a life in tea "my father was a carpenter but I decided to work in tea - I have 15 mu of tea and I grow just one local cultivar. As head of the co-op it is my job to collect questions and queries from those around the villages and we try to sort any issues out" Further along Mr Chen [pictured right] welcomes us to his house and makes us a delicious cup of his own tea. He is a from a multi-generational family of tea farmers but it's a lineage that may not continue ; through help provided by the co-op both his son and his grand-daughter have attended university. As we sip the deliciously sweet results of the hard work of Mr Chen and the tea community here we discuss the formation of the co-operative here & the path to organic certification.
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Photo : Mr Luo, Mr Chen & delicious Wuyuan green
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We discuss how the farmers here started their application for organic in 1995 achieving it in 1998 & starting their cooperative in 2005. Before 1984 all tea grown was to be sold to the government. Mrs Yu explains "Before the cooperative women did all the picking and the men rolled the tea in the home. There were defined roles Someone to pick. Someone to pan fire. Someone to cut the wood. We all remember using the fans for the fire when we were children" After the liberation in 1984 farmers were left to take care of themselves - the farmers picked the leaves and simply sold them where they could. "After 1984 we continued to process some tea but the main focus was on selling the fresh leaf. Some tea continued to be made in the home but not in quantity' Once the cooperative formed in 2005 the 200 farmers across 4 villages were able to sell all of their leaf into the company : a model which has seen them become self sufficient and resilient - in COVID times they were able, with their established models of working, to operate as normal - a huge testament to their hard work and established routes to market. The model established here sees profits feed back into the community with specific investments in schooling - something that Mr Chens family have directly benefitted from. 
Everywhere we go it is clear to see the high regard Mrs Yu is held in, for it is her that has steered this cooperative to success. As we sip with Mr Chen we learn that he is the farmer with the highest rate of plucking - but we then learn that when she was a student Mrs Yu picked 25 kilo in one day! That’s a lot! Talk turns to the environment here. The path to organic certification has been relatively straightforward here due to the ecology - the farmers have always been able to work together with the land to pursue a natural route. "The ecosystem is good here with high mountains and 83% coverage of green" Mrs Yu explains. 'Blue water green mountain is mountain of gold and mountain of silver - blue water and green mountain are the things of value" Mrs Yu shares - a sentiment that shows the close relationship between people and land here "There is no industrial chaotic past here" Mrs Yu explains "we just live simply with nature". In terms of agricultural practice there is still grass growing in July and August so they simply turn it over. They also do a superficial turn in the Spring & plough the land deep in the autumn - allowing the soil to recover. In terms of weeding 'We simply cover the ground with dead grass - and there is also snow here almost every year" the team explain. At this point on the trip one of our companions asks for my WeChat [the chinese messaging service] - he was keen to share the rich history of this beautiful region - below is what he sent to me.
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. Photo : Michelle looking down the river
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'Wuyuan Liyuan Tea is a traditional specialty in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, which belongs to the Chinese national geography symbol product. The following are some detailed information about Wuyuan tea:
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'Wuyuan Liyuan Tea is a traditional specialty in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, which belongs to the Chinese national geography symbol product. The following are some detailed information about Wuyuan tea:
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1. ** Location * *: Wuyuan County is located in the mountainous area of northeast Jiangxi, surrounded by Huaiyu Mountain and Huangshan Mountain. This area has high terrain, mild climate, abundant rainfall, fertile soil and misty seasons, which is very suitable for the cultivation of tea trees
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2. ** Historical background * *: Wuyuan green tea has a very long history. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Lu Yu, a famous tea expert, recorded in his book Tea Classic that "Zhangzhou tea was born in Wuyuan Valley". During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Xitou Liyuan Tea, one of the "four famous teas" in Wuyuan, was listed as a tribute and enjoyed a high reputation.
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3. ** Quality characteristics * *: Wuyuan green tea is famous for its three characteristics of "blue and natural color, fragrant and rich taste, and moist and thick water in Qing Ye", which has long been loved and praised by tea lovers.
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4. ** Cultural significance * *: In the history of China's cultural development, many things related to agriculture and plants are attributed to Shennong, and the origin of tea drinking is also closely related to Shennong. As an important part of China tea culture, Wuyuan green tea bears rich historical and cultural values. To sum up, Wuyuan tea is not only a kind of high-quality green tea, but also an important representative of China traditional culture. If you are interested in China tea culture, it is undoubtedly a good choice to taste Wuyuan tea'
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Photo : looking down at the village from the tea garden
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Back at the office we are invited into the tea tasting room to spend some time with the tea makers here Mr Zheng.
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Photo : Mr Zheng in the tasting room
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Mr Zheng shares how he has been making tea from 2009. He comments that the most difficult tea to make is green tea - 'the fixation and the shaping is not easy' he shares. As we talk he prepares 4 teas for tasting : Green Twig, Wild Mountain green, Hong Cha & Gunpowder. As he tastes he offers his evaluation of the tea and we in turn offer ours. And then, just like that, the skies clear and it is up to the garden with tea paradise opening up on the road in front of us..
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Photo : heading up to the tea garden above the village
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This area has high terrain, mild climate, abundant rainfall, fertile soil and misty seasons, which is very suitable for the cultivation of tea trees. As we learned earlier Wuyuan green tea in this area has a very long history with Lu Yu, a famous tea expert, recording in his book Tea Classic that "Zhangzhou tea was born in Wuyuan Valley". With such rich history we stopped, took a deep breath in the mountain air and tried to take in the landscape of this beautiful place. At the top we pause and I take a moment to interview the legend that is Mrs Yu - the driving force behind the cooperative - before we slowly make our way back down to the village
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Photo : Michelle & Mrs Yu
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Leaving the village behind we head to Shimen village for the night. Located in the Reoheyuan National park bird reserve this area has become famous for a very rare bird - the blue created bunting. Every corner of the town is painted with the most beautiful murals celebrating the famous bird and the beauty of the national park. It was a wonderful experience to walk around and take in the beauty of the place and the paintings. We head down to the river to take in the sight of these birds before heading back to our room for the night and a glass of local wine [a VERY potent mix of Rice wine honey and Chinese medicine]
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Photo : Stunning murals celebrating nature in Shimen village
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One last note on the place we stayed for the night - we were very fortunate to stay at a very special historic 300 years old guesthouse in the village here and inside we witnessed a very important aspect of houses in the South of Anhui. On the mantel piece in a number of houses in the area we had seen The vase, the mirror and the clock. Here we saw it again and our host explained to us how The vase, the mirror and the clock are found in houses in the South of Anhui : The meaning? The Clock means have a long whole life : The Mirror means quiet : The vase means peace. People living in this area used to often travel away from home trading and these were kept in place to come back home safe. 'All of the hui province area in the tall buildings - this is because they were historically merchants houses' our host explains' We took tea and took in the beauty. And we hope that you too, when sipping either the wild mountain green from this garden or the autumn wild mountain black tea you may feel the same way.
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Photo : Postcard from the historic guesthouse in Shimen
