Shuikou Tea Culture Tourism Scenic Area

Shuikou Tea Culture Tourism Scenic Area

The Shuikou Tea Culture Tourism Scenic Area was successfully rated as a national 4A-level tourist attraction at the township level in late 2014, becoming the first example of an open rural tourism cluster achieving this status across an entire township.

The Shuikou Tea Culture Tourism Scenic Area, honored as the “Best Livable Demonstration Township in Zhejiang Province” and the “First Most Beautiful Township in Zhejiang,” is a Jiangnan tea culture destination that boasts magnificent landscapes, profound Zen tea culture, and a simple, rustic local charm. Lu Yu, the Sage of Tea, wrote China’s first great masterpiece on tea culture, the Classic of Tea, while in Shuikou. The Zisun tea was continuously offered as tribute to five dynasties for 1,125 years, and the thousand-year-old Shousheng Temple rivals the famous Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou in reputation.

Rural tourism themed around farm stays and distinctive homestays forms a rich and unique tapestry of experiences in Shuikou. With its sincere rural atmosphere, hospitable locals, and a core focus on “eating farm food, staying in farmhouses, engaging in farm work, and enjoying farm life,” the area has attracted visitors from Shanghai, Jiangsu, and beyond. It enjoys high recognition and influence both within the province and across the Yangtze River Delta region. The number of inbound tourists from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United States has also been gradually increasing. In 2014, the Shuikou Tea Culture Scenic Area received over 2.5 million visitors.

With continuous improvements in infrastructure and significantly enhanced visitor reception capacity, the scenic area’s beautiful ecological environment has attracted high-end homestay and leisure tourism projects such as the Flower Inn Zen Tea Boutique Hotel, New Century Resort, Tianwa, and the Agrarian Culture Park. At the same time, the area offers a complete set of the six essential elements of tourism—“eat, stay, travel, tour, shop, and enjoy”—including a local specialty shopping center, mountain leisure trails, tea garden cottages, and the renowned “Eight Delicacies of Shuikou.”