Gu Zhu Zi Sun – Changxing (Zhejiang Province)

This visit was a Museum / shrine to Lu Yu and to the Emperial Tea Garden from the Tang Dynasty. The museum had a modest admission fee but the experience of seeing how tea was processed during the Tang Dynasty and the beauty and splendor of the architecture made this stop a beautiful choice.

This series of statues showed how tea was processed during the Tang Dynasty. The process is not similar to how modern tea is made today and would be quite a different experience than we are used to. As an imperial tea garden, all tea made at this facility was shipped to the capital for the Emperor.

Tea and snacks were included in the price of admission and sitting outside sipping delicious Gu Zhu Zi Sun in the misty hills was a great experience. After our little snack, it was time to head into the wild gardens!

During our visit it was misty and drizzling. Weather that I personally love, and while the ‘perfect’ weather for tea growing is a complicated subject, this is a component of the weather that is important for great tea growing.

We walked through a beautiful bamboo forest on our way to the wild garden.  A fast moving brook runs through the tea garden and down to the village where locals draw drinking water from it. It is a beautiful, natural and pure place.

The bio-diversity of this wild garden is amazing. What was, centuries ago, a cultivated garden, has been self seeding and growing wild ever since. As you saw, the garden is difficult to access and since the bushes are not lined up and organized plucking takes more time, but the results are well worth it.