History

The History of Dragon Well Village Dates Back as early as the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) when Hangzhou was already an important tea producing area. In the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 AD), tea produced in Hangzhou was chosen as a tribute to the emperors. The green tea became known during the Yuan Dynasty (1271AD-1368 AD). Since the dynasties of Ming (1368-1644 AD) and Qing (1644-1912 AD), its fame has spread far and wide. It is believed that during his visit to Hangzhou, the Qing Emperor Qianlong came tea picking in a nearby garden. The tea he brought back to his mother pleased her so much that an order was issued for the Dragon Well green tea to be a yearly tribute to the throne. The eighteen tea bushes the emperor plucked leaves from are now identified with the monarch. They are as vital and productive today as they were two thousand years ago.

China Tea Museum (中国茶叶博物馆)

Name in Chinese: 中国茶叶博物馆

Address: No.88,Longjing Road,Hangzhou

Tel: 86-571-87982096

Introduction:

It is the only one of its kind in China. Opened to the public in October 1990, the museum is located in Double Peaks Tea Village (双峰村) of West Lake Township. This over-7000-square-meter national museum displays a bewildering variety of teas produced nationwide, ranging from black tea to green tea, from white tea to dark tea and from Yunnan brick tea (云南砖茶) to Fujian Oolong tea (福建乌龙茶).

Inquiring about Tea at Dragon Well (龙井问茶)

Name in Chinese: 龙井茶园

Address: No.1, Longjing Village, Xihu District, Hangzhou（杭州西湖区龙井村1号）

Tel: 86-571-88991681

Introduction:

It is one of the “New Ten Scenes of West Lake”. It’s believed that Dragon Well leads to the sea, where dragons lived. That’s how Dragon Well got its name. For dragons were known as the god of rain in ancient China, when droughts visited Hangzhou in ancient times, local people would come here to pray for rain. Due to the fame of Dragon Well, the 1050-year-old Buddhist temple built nearby and tea bushes planted around are both named after it. This temple has been converted into a tea house set in a beautiful grove of bamboo, pine and masses of wisteria.

Meijiawu Tea Culture Village (梅家坞茶文化村)

Name in Chinese: 梅家坞茶文化村

Address: Meilingnan Road, Xihu District

Introduction:

It’s located in the west of West Lake. There people can visit the tea plantation, and learn about tea processing, how to hand-fry tea and how to identify the true West Lake Dragon Well tea from fake ones.