Chashan Fengqingyuan Scenic Area

　　“Since ancient times, spring has arrived earlier south of the pass; by Qingming, Ziyang tea is already brewed.” This is a line from the poem of Ye Shizhuo, the magistrate of Xing’an during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, and it served as one of the earliest advertisements for Ziyang tea.

　　The culture of Ziyang tea began to take shape during the Eastern Han Dynasty. By the Tang Dynasty, tea had become a “local tribute” from Jinzhou, presented as a mountain delicacy to the imperial court. Ziyang, being the main tea-producing region in southern Shaanxi, saw improvements in tea picking, processing, and brewing techniques, eventually forming the distinctive Ziyang tea culture.

　　Located by the Renhe River, the Ziyang Wafang Tea Research Institute was once the largest tea research institute in Northwest China and also the biggest base for the cultivation, research, and processing of Ziyang tea. Stretching across 20,000 acres, the tea mountains are covered with rows of lush tea bushes that envelop the hills like a green ocean wrapped snugly around the mountains like an emerald ribbon. Strolling through the tea fields in the early morning, you can watch the mist gradually thinning and rising from the bottom up, diffusing among the tea bushes. Mingled with the faint fragrance of tea, you might catch glimpses of graceful tea-picking women moving gracefully among the rows, or hear the fresh and melodious folk songs such as “The lad is singing hill songs from across the way,” transporting you into what feels like a fairyland. When tired, sit down to enjoy a tea ceremony performance while sipping the fragrant and mellow Ziyang tea. As the renowned writer Jia Pingwa once wrote, “Why drink wine when carefree? Often sip Ziyang tea in peace.”