Where the Mountains Brew the Tea
A ten-day private tea journey through Quanzhou, Wuyishan and Xiamen — Fujian, China. World Heritage lanes, national-park tea mountains, master-led cuppings and the people who make the world's most storied teas.
16 – 25 September · A bespoke journey for four guestsTen days. Three cities. One thread — tea.
Travel from the medieval port of Quanzhou, whose ships once carried tea and porcelain across the seas, into the mist-wrapped Wuyi Mountains, the birthplace of Lapsang Souchong and the cliffs that give rock tea (yancha) its name. The journey ends by the sea in Xiamen. Every tasting, temple, workshop, performance and meal is reserved in advance for your small private group and guided in English by tea masters, scholars and local guides.
Quanzhou
The Song-and-Yuan emporium on the Maritime Silk Road: World Heritage temples, Minnan tea houses, puppetry and the village of the floral headdress.
Wuyishan
The cradle of black tea and the cliff gardens of rock tea — cupping rooms, smoke houses, bamboo rafts and an open-air show staged on the mountains themselves.
Xiamen
A seaside farewell: oceanfront lunch, old-town lanes at leisure and evening transfers for the journey home.
The Itinerary
A private departure for 8 guests with one accompanying escort. Times are indicative; the pace is unhurried and every reservation — tea houses, temples, factories, trains and restaurants — is made in advance.
Arrival in Quanzhou
Guests are welcomed at Jinjiang International Airport and transferred to the hotel beside Wanda Plaza. After check-in, the journey opens over a lunch of Quanzhou regional dishes; the rest of the afternoon is kept free for recovery after the long flights.
- Private airport pickup and hotel check-in (Atour Hotel)
- Welcome lunch of Quanzhou specialities
- Preferences, allergies and dietary needs noted in advance
Old Quanzhou & Minnan Tea Houses
A local English-speaking guide leads the day through the World Heritage lanes: the thousand-year-old Kaiyuan Temple with its twin stone pagodas, and the living arcade of West Street. Taste Tieguanyin oolong in a classical tea house, then take front-row seats at the Song-Yuan Teahouse for Minnan music and glove puppetry performance. A walk through Xunpu fishing village closes the afternoon.
- Kaiyuan Temple & West Street — UNESCO World Heritage
- Tieguanyin oolong tasting at Baishui Haoxi tea house
- Song-Yuan Teahouse performance, front seats reserved
- Xunpu fishing village and Quanzhou specialities for dinner
Tea Scholarship & Song Whisking
The morning is a structured masterclass taught in English: tea history, the six families of Chinese tea, and a guided tasting of each category with courseware and samples. In the afternoon, step into the Song dynasty — diancha whisking and chabaixi, the art of painting in tea froth — complete with Hanfu robes, hairstyling and a professional portrait session.
- Six tea categories masterclass, taught in English
- Song-dynasty diancha whisking & tea-froth painting
- Hanfu robes, hairstyling and professional photography
Zanhua, Wudianshi & the Train to the Mountains
The morning belongs to zanhua, the cascading floral headdress of Xunpu, listed as intangible cultural heritage, followed by the red-brick mansions and stone lanes of Wudianshi traditional district. After lunch, the high‑speed train runs from Quanzhou South to Wuyishan in just over two hours . A dinner of Wuyi mountain specialities and the garden‑style Wuyi Mountain Villa await on arrival.
- Zanhua floral headdress experience, with hairstyling
- Wudianshi traditional red‑brick district
- Reserved high‑speed rail, Quanzhou South → Wuyishan
- Welcome dinner & check‑in at Wuyi Mountain Villa
Classroom realityZheng Shan Tang, Cupping & Tea Studies
The morning opens the doors of Zhengshantang: the tea‑culture exhibition hall, followed by a professional black‑tea evaluation session — cupping bowls, aroma and liquor scoring — led by a senior tea master, with lunch in the building. The afternoon moves to Wuyi University for an English‑language tea‑studies lecture and campus visit, and ends with an optional rock‑colour painting workshop using the same mineral pigments that have coloured Chinese painting for centuries.
- Zhengshantang building & tea‑culture exhibition hall
- Professional black‑tea cupping with a senior tea master
- English tea‑studies lecture & Wuyi University visit
- Wuyishan Rock-Colour (Yan-Cai) intangible heritage workshop & painting experience
Tongmuguan & Impression Dahongpao
Drive into Tongmuguan, the guarded core of Wuyi National Park where Lapsang Souchong was born four centuries ago; passport registration is arranged in advance. Visit Zhengshantang's Tongmu headquarters and a traditional qinglou smoke workshop, lunch on mountain‑village dishes, and walk the old pass and Moon Bay lookout. After dark, the cliffs themselves become the stage for Impression Dahongpao, the open‑air landscape show by the creators of the Impression series.
- Tongmuguan reserve — Zhengshantang Tongmu headquarters & qinglou
- Mountain‑village lunch and tasting at the source
- Tongmu Pass & Moon Bay lookout
- Impression Dahongpao open‑air show, evening performance
Nine‑Bend Stream & the Rock‑Tea Heartland
Drift down the Nine‑Bend Stream on a poled bamboo raft past clear shoals, cliff coffins and cathedral rock formations, with a stop at Wuyi Palace. In the afternoon enter the core rock‑tea terrain: Tianxin Yongle Temple, the fabled Three Pits and Two Streams whose terroir sets the price of yancha, and the six protected Dahongpao mother trees that gave the most famous rock tea its name.
- Nine‑Bend Stream bamboo‑raft drift & Wuyi Palace
- Tianxin Yongle Temple
- Three Pits and Two Streams, the grand‑cru terroir
- The six Dahongpao mother trees
AI illustration
AI illustration
Baiyun Temple, Yan-Cai Heritage & Yanyu Rock Tea Tasting
Start the day climbing to Baiyun Temple for a quiet morning visit and temple vegetarian zen lunch. After lunch, continues to Yanyu Flagship Store under Zheng Shan Tang, with professional Wuyi rock tea tasting hosted by tea masters. Dinner is served in Wuyishan downtown featuring local Wuyi mountain cuisine before returning to hotel for rest.
- Baiyun Temple visit & temple vegetarian zen lunch
- Yanyu flagship store guided Wuyi rock tea tasting
- Downtown Wuyishan dinner with local specialities, hotel rest
Xigu Liuxiang Tea Estate & Cupping Certificate Ceremony
Full day journey at Xigu Liuxiang: morning signature tea tasting, followed by a tour of Wuyi rock tea cultivar gardens. In the late afternoon, we hold the official Black Tea & Rock Tea Cupping Certificate ceremony, including souvenir tea gifts and group photography. The group will then enjoy a farewell dinner at Zhengshantang building featuring authentic Wuyi mountain dishes.
- Special tea tasting experience at Xigu Liuxiang
- Guided tour of Wuyi rock tea cultivar gardens
- Cupping Certificate ceremony, souvenir tea & group photo
- Farewell dinner at Zheng Shan Tang building
High-Speed Train to Xiamen & Individual Departures
Morning high-speed train departs Wuyishan to Xiamen. Arrive at noon for lunch in Xiamen. After lunch, guests proceed separately for their onward travel.
- Reserved high‑speed rail, Wuyishan → Xiamen
- Individual airport transfers for guests
Not Only Tasting — Doing
Song Whisking
Whisk froth with a bamboo whisk, paint in tea foam with chabaixi, and take Hanfu portraits in Song robes.
SouvenirsRock‑Colour Painting
An optional studio session with ground mineral pigments — azurite, malachite and cinnabar, the colours of Chinese art.
Cupping Masterclass
Evaluate aroma, liquor and leaf like a professional tea buyer, and finish with a formal cupping certificate.
Tea Making in the Hills
Withering, rocking, frying and roasting — follow rock tea from the bush through the workshop to the gaiwan.
The Flavours of the Road
Every lunch and dinner is arranged around local, seasonal specialities — Minnan seafood and street classics in Quanzhou, mountain produce in Wuyishan, and coastal fare in Xiamen. Menus are adapted to taste, allergies and dietary needs.
live shootingMeals are included throughout the journey, from the first Quanzhou lunch to the farewell dinner at Zhengshantang. Local specialities are woven in on request; please share preferences and restrictions before departure.
Included & Good to Know
Arranged for the group
- Private airport and rail‑station transfers throughout
- English‑speaking local guide, lecturers and tea masters
- High‑speed rail tickets, Quanzhou–Wuyishan–Xiamen, seats reserved
- All tea‑house, temple, factory, show and workshop reservations
- Song whisking, Hanfu photography, rock‑colour painting and tea making
- Black Tea & Rock Tea Cupping Certificate and souvenir tea
- Daily lunches and dinners featuring regional specialities
Good to know
- Tongmuguan lies within a national‑park border zone; passports are registered in advance.
- Dress modestly for temple visits; soft‑soled shoes suit garden paths and bamboo rafts.
- Late September in Wuyishan is mild, around 24–28°C, with cool mountain mornings — bring a light layer.
- The group is limited to 8 guests with one accompanying escort; departures are arranged on request.
- Food and venue images marked "AI illustration" are artist impressions; every venue, tea and experience described is real and arranged as written.
Your seat at the tea table is waiting
Bespoke private departures to Fujian are arranged for small groups and special interests — black tea, rock tea, ceramics or photography. To plan your journey, write to us and we will tailor the days around you.
info@zhengshantang.ca