Luyu Tea Scripture Tower

Luyu Tea Scripture Tower

The Tea Scripture Tower is located in Tianmen City, Hubei Province, within Luyu’s Hometown Park. It was built to commemorate Lu Yu, the author of The Classic of Tea, and officially opened to the public on November 7, 2014.

The Tea Scripture Tower stands 53.85 meters tall with nine floors, featuring a Tang-style architectural design and covering a construction area of 5,308 square meters. The Tea Scripture Tower Museum includes a multifunctional tea ceremony exhibition area and houses various editions of The Classic of Tea, such as the Ke Qiao edition and Wu Dan edition from the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, the Jiajing Jìnglíng Continuation Edition, the Yihongtang Edition, the Tianmen County Annals Edition, and the Sangzhulu Edition. On the ninth floor, a three-dimensional display recreates the scene of the 1542 Jiajing edition printing of The Classic of Tea. The fourth-floor Tea Storage Pavilion showcases over a thousand types of tea.

Tianmen, anciently known as Jìnglíng, is the hometown of Lu Yu, the Sage of Tea. The Tea Scripture Tower boasts profound cultural significance. From its heights, visitors can enjoy sweeping views of the beautiful plains, gaze upon the cityscapes of a thousand towns, the misty landscapes of the Chu region, and the “West River water” that Lu Yu longed for, which flows at the foot of Jìnglíng City. Nearby sights include the Xita Temple and the interconnected East Lake, West Lake, Front Moat, and Back Moat.

The Tea Scripture Tower has nine floors, is 53.85 meters tall, and covers a construction area of 5,308 square meters, designed in the style of Tang-era towers. Floors 1 to 9 correspond sequentially to Chapters 1 to 10 of The Classic of Tea (with the middle pavilion between floors 7 and 9 counted as one floor).

The first floor, called the Divine Inspiration Hall, mainly introduces the origins of tea and Lu Yu of Jìnglíng, showcasing an overview of tea culture and the life of Lu Yu.

The second floor, the Joy of Tea Hall, uses a 270-degree circular stage to present a theatrical performance centered on Lu Yu, illustrating the full process of tea picking, processing, and brewing.

The third floor, the Flavor of Tea Hall, features tea tasting rooms themed around the “Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing” dynasties, incorporating all six major tea categories—green, black, yellow, white, oolong, and dark teas. Visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the tea rooms and sample the flavors of the six tea types.

Floors four to six are respectively the Chinese Tea Collection Hall, the Tea Ceremony Hall, and the Global Tea Hall. They mainly use stone carvings and multimedia to display famous teas from around the world, the evolution and development of Chinese tea ceremonies, as well as the tea history, customs, and records of countries across the globe.

The seventh floor is the Luyu Calligraphy and Painting Academy, which collects and displays historical and contemporary artworks related to tea. The pavilion on this floor, the Luyu Famous Tea Pavilion, showcases award-winning teas and companies annually.

The eighth floor, the Luyu Celebrities Pavilion, highlights the lives and tea-related achievements of famous historical and contemporary tea masters, creating a “Contemporary Tea Scripture.”

The ninth floor, the Tea Scripture Repository, exhibits various editions of Lu Yu’s The Classic of Tea throughout history, as well as foreign-language versions of the text.