Hangzhou
Hangzhou · 龙井
Longjing tea village Terraces of Longjing bushes, a few villages, and a lot of people who would like to sit you down for a tasting that becomes a purchase. The landscape is free. The pot on the table is not.
Cultural landscapes 人文风光
This is a farmed cultural landscape, which is why it is not tagged as wilderness. Stay on the paths. The bushes are someone’s crop.
If you buy tea, buy a small amount from a shop that will let you leave without a performance. The famous name on a large tin is how visitors overpay.
Getting there
A bus or taxi from the lake into the hills. It is a half day, not a stop on the causeway. The walk between villages is the point.
Staying nearby
Sleep in the city. A night in a tea village is quiet and awkward for dinner. Come back to Hangzhou to eat.
Back to Hangzhou
Free lanes, paid tea
How to get in There is no ticket to walk the public lanes and look at the terraces. A tea tasting has a price. Ask it before you sit, and feel no duty to buy a tin. Peak-picking season is late March and April. The rest of the year the hills are still the hills. They are just not mid-harvest.