The National Tea Museum is located in Longjing (Dragon Well) village, in the Western side of the magnificent West Lake, in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China. The museum was open in 1991 to promote the tea culture of China to the world. The museum is proudly spread in an area of 22,000 square meters with a build up area of 3,500 square meters. It is a known fact that China is the holy abode of tea and it has the longest history related to tea and tea culture. Keeping in view of the rich tea culture of tea history, the museum is set up in this picturesque location.
Unique of its kind:
This is the only one museum in China with a unique theme representing “tea”. The museum is not limited within a building complex but is enclosed by thick vegetations of tea gardens and each tea plant bushes are closely related to one other. On both side of the road to the tea museum, you can see one hundred different distinctive Chinese characters related to the tea are projected to give you a kind of welcome ovation. The ambience is great to watch, as you are standing among the great tea culture of the world.
The tea history recreated:
The history of Chinese tea is recreated here in the buildings which are divided in to four blocks. The exhibition hall characterizes the history and development of Chinese tea at various stages of its progression through various Dynasties. The exhibitions halls are divided in to six halls to show case the various processing techniques of Chinese tea making. These halls are known as the Hall of Tea History, the Hall of Tea Properties, the Kaleidoscope Hall, the Tea Sets Hall, the Tea Friendship Hall and the Tea Customs Hall. Each of these halls carries out the different aspect of tea and develops stages of tea culture. It would be easy for tourists to understand the intricacies of tea processing and how the process influenced the history.
What you can see in the exhibition halls?
The Tea Customs Hall is a must visit place, where tourist can understand the influence of tea on various ethnic minority groups involved in cultivating, leaf nipping and processing the leaves in to tea dust. Moving to the Kaleidoscope Hall, you will be surprised to see the number of verities of tea displayed over here. There are more than three hundred different types of teas are displayed here. This includes the six basic types of teas and also reprocessed teas. You are provided with audio details of the tea and also you can have digital information about various types of tea and its process.
Don’t forget to move to the conference hall of the research institute of tea where you will have most of the information what has been not covered in the exhibition hall. The institute research center is doing an excellent job to cater the required information and state government is providing all the assistance what is required to be provided as an additional support. Also, in the exhibition hall, there are tea outlets and also tea art performers and you can watch the different types of tea preparations and brewing, which is some of the rarest experiences you can only find in China.
Travel tips:
Entry to the museum is free. The museum will be closed on Monday. There are frequent bus services available from the Hangzhou city to National Tea Museum.