LIFEPEOPLE 19 CHINA DAILY TUESDAY MARCH 20, 2007 The aroma of the leaves as It’s time for the they are tossed and turned in spring harvest of a large wok is enough to melt the famed West the exhaustion of a hard day’s Lake Longjing work in the fi elds, avers tea. Farmers and one migrant worker in teahouses are Wenjiashan of Hangzhou, busy picking, East China’s Zhejiang drying, toasting Province. Photos by Li and packaging this Zhong tea connoisseur’s delight. Xie Fang reports For thousands of years, tea drinking has been linked with the idea of harmony with nature and distancing from worldly concerns. Longjing’s cup overfl ows mong the many kinds so expensive?” she shook her head. by hand pressure for 15 minutes, with of tea in China, perhaps “There is no great difference between the temperature at 220 C. After this, the most well-known is the green tea grown in West Lake and the leaves are heated and tossed for the Longjing green tea that in my hometown, which is just 40 20 minutes at 160–180 C. This step is grown in Hangzhou of yuan ($5) per kilogram.” called “huiguo”. AEast China’s Zhejiang Province. However, Luo loves the pure and “In general, it takes about seven Currently priced at some 4,000 fresh smell of the tea being processed hours to produce one kilogram of yuan ($517) per kilogram, the fresh in the homes. “It melts away the ex- tea,” he said. Longjing tea picked and dried before haustion of the day,’’ she said. In the 1960s, more than 100 local April 5 is a traditional top-ranking The spring tea harvest usually lasts men took part in the tea processing, gift among the Chinese. one month, until the middle of April. while women harvested the tea all For migrant tea pickers, tea farm- After that, most of the migrant tea pick- year round. ers and teahouse managers, however, ers will leave the village. But Luo will “We worked from 6 am to 10 pm the famed tea means more than the remain, working as a maid for the tea every day during the peak season, enchanting fragrance. grower, and then to harvest the sum- with a payment of just 1 yuan per day mer tea from May to October. for each person. To keep our spirits up, very March, Luo Jinying travels The mother of two hates to be away we sang folk songs or Yueju Opera,” from her hometown of Quzhou from home for so long, especially as said Wang. The job of picking tea leaves is best suited to young girls with dexterity as great care must Eto Wenjiashan where she works her husband works in Shanghai, Thanks to the economic reforms be exercised in the way the leaves are plucked. as a tea picker for a local planter. which means her children have to since the 1980s, farmers have devel- Longjing, or Dragon Well Tea, look after themselves. oped their own private businesses. known as the best green tea in the “My dream is to build a three-story Wang has been involved in the tea country, has long been grown in house for my children, which requires business for a decade. His daughters the mountains around West Lake in over 100,000 yuan ($12,926). I know are managing silk businesses in tour- China Hangzhou. Its production dates back it will take years to make such a huge ist attractions, given the ever-increas- almost 1,200 years. amount, but my husband and I are re- ing number of people visiting scenic Wenjiashan is one of the main ally trying. Once we achieve this goal, Hangzhou from all over the country Longjing tea-growing areas in the my life as a tea picker in Hangzhou and the world. to a tea city, and covers 43 hectares. will end,” Luo said. While tea is no longer the Wang By Qing Yang Green tea is growing faster than family’s only source of income, ever this year, owing to the unusu- he believes making tea is a tra- ally warm winter. So Luo has been ditional cultural heritage that Even as more Chinese begin called back earlier by the planter to demands to be preserved. to take to wine and coffee, tea help harvest the tea. The best Longjing Tea is made remains the foremost choice of The 40-year-old Zhejiang native in the week before April 5, or drink for most Chinese and is gets up at 6 am. After a simple the Pure Brightness Festival deeply rooted in Chinese culture. breakfast, she and 10 other tea (Qingming). Known as Mingqian The English version of pickers head for the fi elds nearby, (before Qingming), such Longjing Chinese Tea written by Liu Tong with a bamboo basket tied around tea is “green in hue, strong in fra- and published by the China the waist and a bamboo hat to keep grance, mellow in taste and pretty Intercontinental Press is a well off the sun. in appearance”. translated text that helps read- They disperse into the terraced “My tea is always booked out ers understand this culture. The English green hills, where the tea plants by regular customers who don’t The Chinese character version of grow to no more than one meter. trust unknown shops outside. currently used for tea, which Chinese Tea Each picker is responsible for a There are many fake West Lake originated in the Tang Dynasty because as long as there written by single row. Once this is done, it’s Longjing tea products in the (AD 618-907), has many interest- was communication with nature, Liu Tong and on to the next row. market,” he said. ing connotations. The bottom drinking tea alone could make published by According to Luo, the traditional “My customers won’t drink the part represents “wood” (mu); for a cheerful time. But during China Intercon- way to harvest the tea is to use the tea themselves. They keep it as a the top is a radical which means the long period of it development, tinental Press left hand to push away the branches top-grade gift,” Wang added. “grass”; in between we have Chinese tea culture has taken on offers an easy to reveal the new tea leaves, then Every year, Wang keeps no more “people” (ren). This suggests the two very different characteristics way to under- pluck them with the right hand than 10 kilograms of Longjing tea harmony between human beings ü the upscale and the folksy. stand Chinese from the top to the side, or from for himself. He sips three cups of and nature. While men of letters thought tea culture. the outside to the inside. tea a day, a habit he believes has In ancient times, it was thought sipping was the essence of tea File photo “The ideal tea pickers are young kept him in good health. that tea plants could not be clas- drinking and taking large gulps girls, who are dexterous with their At Hefang Street, a popular tour- sifi ed as high-yield or low-yield spoiled the charm, for ordinary hands and work neatly,” said Luo. ism spot in Hangzhou, the Taiji Tea- based on their breeds. The dif- folks, tea was seen primarily as However, the young country house has drawn a lot of attention ferences were attributed more to the best thirst reliever. girls, many of whom are well The freshly-picked leaves make their way this spring with a new kind of tea growing conditions. Regions with After a hard day’s work, work- schooled, show little interest in into huge woks where they will be heated that is more affordable. a favorable environment can more ers would come to a simple tea this temporary job. They prefer to to bring out the fragrance. Manager Zheng Xiaochun said often produce rare types of tea. stand and fi nish a big bowl of tea work stable hours in factories in the no teahouse in Hangzhou is of- That is why it is said that “famous in one mouthful and then wipe city, she said. fering West Lake Longjing tea made mountains give birth to famous away the tea drops with the back “Only the illiterate elderly or mid- n the living room of a three-story this year, as the cost, about 100 yuan tea”. of their hands. This has its own aged women like me pick tea,” she house, Wang Shuzhou toasts the ($12.9) per cup, is beyond the reach of The mountains listed as herit- appeal refl ecting generosity and added. Ifreshly-picked tea leaves in an ordinary customers. age sites by the United Nations heroism. A good tea picker generally har- electric wok. The teahouse offers Qiantang Educational, Scientifi c and Cul- The best place to experi- vests 2 kilograms of fresh leaves in The 64-year-old owns half a hectare Longjing tea, which is grown outside tural Organization (UNESCO) are ence Chinese tea culture is the 10 hours, with means a payment of 30 of Longjing tea in Wenjiashan. Hangzhou and priced at 600 to 1,600 all famous for tea. teahouse. To attract customers, yuan ($3.9) per day, plus free meals He has recruited 12 helpers from yuan ($77–207) per kilogram. To name a few: Rock Tea teahouses have always brought and accommodation provided by the nearby Jiangxi Province this year, Zheng, 31, said West Lake Longjing (Yancha) from Mount Wuyi, East together the best tea and invented local tea grower.