1. Seek for the Tea Scent in Longmen Secret Realm
Route: Longmen Secret Realm Scenic Area – Qingshan Lake National Forest Park – Wenwu Shangtian Village Scenic Area
Qingshan Lake in the east of Lin’an District is the first stop on the way from Lin’an to Hangzhou. With convenient transportation, it is easily accessible by Subway Line No. 16. It also doesn’t lack beautiful natural and cultural landscapes.
Longmen Secret Realm is actually a village very famous on the internet. It has 950 mu of tea gardens and more than 600 mu of royal chrysanthemum plantations. There is fresh tea almost every season. In spring it is wild tea growing in rock crevices while in autumn it is the royal chrysanthemum tea.
Shimen, Dashan and Longshan are three administrative villages with distinct styles. They offer a lot of attractions and interesting experiences such as lively alleys lined with houses with white walls and black tiles, thrilling rock climbing on the Lion Hill, the Beer House offering unlimited beer and Linjiatang, a beautiful natural village which is at a high altitude and offers very fresh air.
Inside Qianshan Lake National Forest Park, there is a 42.195-kilometer-long round-lake greenway. You can cycle and jog, and admire the diverse scenery of the lake closely.
Adjacent to Qingshan Lake Science and Technology City is Wenwu Shangtian Village Scenic Area which is known for the fragrance of tea filling the air and a vast bamboo forest. The village has one thousand mu of Longjing tea plantations. Whenever it is spring, the tea farmers in the village are always busy picking tea.
2. Zhongli Zen Tea on Tianmu Mountain
Route: Tianmu Mountain Scenic Area – Tianmu Grand Valley Scenic Area – Taihuyuan Scenic Area – Zhinan Village
The Famous Mountain Circle of Tianmu in central Lin’an is known for Tianmu Mountain National Reserve. At the foot of Tianmu Mountain, there are nearly 300 mu of tea gardens and it was also the ancient tea farm of Tianmu. A saying goes that a famous temple always produces famous tea. Dake Tea from Tianmu is also associated with Zen and its making techniques have been passed down through generations of monks in the mountain. They drink tea while studying Zen.
Tianmu Grand Valley with five Guinness World Records is characterized by boulders and clear springs. Here, visitors can enjoy a full range of summer water activities which are famous on the internet.
“Tea from Dongkeng, Water from Xikeng.” Once ranked among the top ten famous teas of Zhejiang, Tianmu Qingding Tea is mostly produced in Dongkeng Village, Taihuyuan Town. The organic tea planting area in the village reaches 4,000 mu. With a history of more than 300 years, Yunwu Tea made by Lang Family in the village has been passed down from generation to generation and finally to Lang Lifang.
Taihuyuan becomes a natural air-conditioner in summer. It has a forest cover rate of 98% and abundant water resources. When you are there, you will feel as if you entered the “paradise on earth” all of a sudden.
Zhinan Village is one of the most beautiful villages in East China. It has the “Seven Ancient Cultures” including ancient trees, ancient wells, ancient surnames and ancient ponds, etc. Walking in the village, you will get to know its long history and profound culture.
More than three hundred and forty ancient trees which are over 200 years old and eight ancient maples and ginkgoes between 800 and 1,000 years old provide islands of shade there in summer and make the village the best place against the blazing sun.
3. Search for Wild Tea Outdoors in Western Zhejiang
Route: Dalong Bay Scenic Area of Western Zhejiang – Grand Canyon Scenic Area of Western Zhejiang – Daming Mountain Scenic Area
Topographically, Lin’an is high in the west and low in the east. With a relatively high elevation and an excellent eco-environment, it has cultivated unique and rare tea varieties in Changhua and Changbei Town. The slow growth period has given the high mountain teas a very strong aroma.
A series of rare tea plants grow here including Dongkeng Organic Tea, Xiangjian Wild Tea.
It is not summer without water. Dalong Bay Scenic Area offers the Cliff Glass Rafting and Longjing Valley Whitewater Rafting, bringing you the thrill of speed.
In the Grand Canyon of Western Zhejiang, water is crystal clear and trees grow flourishingly. There is a village named Xiangjian Village. There are tea gardens around it. They complement each other perfectly.
The 10,000-metre-long cave, where temperature is 18°C all year round, in Daming Mountain is like a "natural refrigerator" sending out chilly cold air continuously. The Great Steel Wall, a perforated steel raceway built on a high mountain at an altitude of over 1100 meters above the sea level, is very popular. On the way, all you feel is the quickening pumping of your heart.