Day 1: September 16 — Arrival in Xiamen
Gathering: 6:30 am at Xiamen Airport. The guide will meet you at Xiamen airport.
If you take the flight by Xiamen airline, it arrives at 6 am, you will meet the guide when you come out. If you take other flight, please meet at Xiamen airport at 6:30 am.
The group will take a private car (50 minutes to 1 hour) to Quanzhou, where is the center of Chaozhou Gongfu Tea, our tea class room is there. Tie Guan Yin is a county of Quanzhou City, famous for Tie Guan Yin oolong.
Lunch: Local cuisine.
Afternoon: hotel check-in and rest. (Probably jet lag)
Day 2: September 17 - Gongfu tea experience & sight-seeing
breakfast in the hotel
Morning: Chinese tea ceremony in a local teahouse, tasting local Tie Guan Yin. Even though Tie Guan Yin was grown in Anxi County in Quanzhou, most of the tea business is in Quanzhou, and Quanzhou is the center of Tie Guan Yin business.
Lunch: local delicacy
Afternoon: Visit XiJie, local business street, and visit some local attractions.
Dinner: local restaurant
Day 3: September 18 — Tea class: Song Dynasty Tea Ceremony Experience
8:00 Breakfast in Hotel
9:00 In tea classroom, basic level study of Chinese Tea, practice of tea ceremonies
Lunch
Song-style tea ceremony study (package includes prefessional photography, makeup, hairstyle and rental of Hanfu, traditional Chinese clothes).
The Song Dynasty (960-1279) was an important era for Chinese tea. Tea became popular among all levels of society, from the emperor to ordinary people. The culture, art and aesthetics of tea reached their peak, exerting significant influence on neighboring countries, especially Japan.
Learn about the Song tea tradition and its influence on Japanese tea culture.
Dinner: Local cuisine
Day 4: September 19 — Local art heritage and heading to Wuyi Mountain
Morning: local heritage - Floral Hair Adornment Experience (簪花）
Lunch: Local cuisine
Afternoon: Travel to Wuyi via high-speed train (around 3 hours)
Accommodation: Wuyi Palace , in the core area of Wuyi Mountain, Looking at the Dawang Peak(landmark of Wuyi Mountain). The hotel is one of Wuyi’s nicest hotel with 4 stars.
Day 5: September 20 — Zheng Shang Tang Headquarters in Tongmu Guan Natural Reserve, Black Tea Professional Study
During the stay at the hotel, enjoy the breakfast Buffet in the hotel every morning.
Morning: Zheng Shan Tang headquarters — visit the heritage black tea making workshop. watch video, learn black tea knowledge, guided tasting and evaluation of black tea by tea tasting master (tea samples include most famous black tea of Jin Jun Mei, Feizi Xiao, Zhengshan Xiaozhong)
Lunch: At Zheng Shang Tang headquarters, local Wuyi delicacies
Afternoon: the group enjoys tea. Also tea ceremony practice and tasting exchange
Dinner: At Zheng Shang Tang headquarters, local Wuyi delicacies
Day 6: September 21 — Tongmu Guan Nature Reserve
Morning: Entry into Tongmuguan Nature Reserve (passport registration required, because this area is not open to the public), visit the village and landscape
Lunch: Local Tongmu Guan specialty dishes
Afternoon: Zheng Shan Tang for tea together
5:00 pm Early Dinner: Wuyi city, local food
Evening: 7:00 pm “Impression Da Hong Pao” large-scale live performance by established director Zhang Yimou. (tickets included)
Day 7: September 22 — Wuyi Mountain explores, visit famous core area and mother trees
Morning: Bamboo rafting on the Nine-Bend River (tickets included), admire Danxia landforms and scenic streams and waterfalls
Lunch: in the Wuyi town, local food
Afternoon: Visit Tianxin Yongle Chan Temple, Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) mother trees, San Keng Liang Jian(三坑两涧) core area of rock tea.
Dinner: at Zheng Shan Tang headquaters, Wuyi Mountain specialties
Day 8: September 23 — Wuyi Mountain National Park and rock tea study (tickets included)
Morning: Tianyou peak (hiking shoes and comfortable clothes)Visit Wuyi Jing She, Wuyi Palace
Lunch: National park
Afternoon: Visit Zheng Shan Tang rock tea Yanyu workshop, tasting rock tea with professional rock tea expert, and learning rock tea from the expert
Dinner: Zheng Shan Tang headquarters
Day 9: September 24 — Visiting another rock tea company and have tea processing experience
Morning: Visit Xi Gu Liu Xiang(溪谷留香) Rock Company, tasting their signature rock tea
Lunch: Wuyi town, local food
Afternoon: Visited a rock tea garden and have rock tea processing experience
Dinner: Zheng Shan Tang headquarters
Day 10: September 25 — Graduation & Departure
Morning: Ceremony for awarding “Black Tea & Rock Tea Tasting Certificate” and souvenirs (photographs included), High speed train to Xiamen (ticket is included, need passport to purchase the ticket)
Evening: Xiamen departure to Vancouver, Canada. Or visit other parts of China or other countries.
Additional Notes
Clothing: Participants receive a comfortable tea uniform as a present. A size chart will be provided for proper fitting.
Group Size: 4 participants, accompanied by an guide
Included in Price: All tickets of national parks, bamboo rafting, performances, meals, accommodations, guide and translation fees, high-speed train, Wuyi Mountain to Xiamen train, Song Dynasty tea ceremony (makeup, Hanfu, professional photography), tea class fee and tasting experiences fee.
Excluded: International flights (you can book your own flight, meet at 6am in Xiamen airport on September 16)
Special Notes:
Passport registration required for Tongmu Guan Nature Reserve entry
Notify organizers of any food allergies in advance
The itinerary may be adjusted forward or backward depending on weather conditions