Teatime for tourists

By Ye Jun (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-01 16:09

Local monks offered him a cup of tea and cured him, so that he not only took a national qualifying exam for officials but also became the top qualifier. He also used the tea to cure the Queen's stomach problem. He later returned to Fujian and tied a red robe of honor on the tea tree.

Wild tea trees that are more than 1,000 years old can be found in the southernmost part of Yunnan province.

While the dahongpao is the most famous northern Fujian oolong tea, Wuyi rougui is known for its great fragrance and Wuyi shuixian for its good taste. The rock teas are best for people who want to lose weight and get rid of that heavy feeling in the stomach.

Be warned, though - they also reduce blood sugar so fast, that you can suddenly end up with a low blood-sugar level and become weak in the limbs or even dizzy, if you drink too much on an empty stomach. If that happens, eat some candy, or some snack food.

The Wuyi Mountains have a typical danxia topography, characterized by a distinctive red sandstone land formations. It is said that the 36 peaks and 99 famous rocks all produce good oolong.

Tieguanyin, another famous oolong tea in southern Fujian, is also in its prime now. Its home region, Anxi, has a tea farming history dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and produces 15,000 tons of oolong in 16,700 acres of tea gardens. Most of the population is involved in tea cultivation.

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