NEW: from June 24th, 2025

Early summer tea tour: Yunnan

Kunming-Dali-Shaxi-Xishuangbanna-Nannuo-Yiwu area-Menghai-Laobanzhang-Laoman'e-Jinuo

The tour starts at the beginning of summer, when tea leaves, trees and mountains have all been blessed by the first rain: we will be surrounded by changing skies and saturated hues, intense fragrances, and all the spring leaves on the tea tables.

Our journey begins in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Xishuangbanna, where we will attend scholars' workshops on Gongfucha and Yixing; we will journey north to Dali and Shaxi, embraced by stunning landscapes and thousand-year old traces of daily life along the tea hose road.

Along the journey we will live of our passion for tea: in south-west Yunnan, and we explore all the most important mountains and tea-forests of Yunnan. We will brew together the best teas, we speak with the producers and assist them in their work as we walk their lands. We will be hosted by skilled pottery masters and professionals, visiting local artists and peaceful corners of our beloved mountains.

The beginning of summer is adelicately lively season: the first rains have just begun, and land enjoys te freshness of the new lymph at the same time, here and there happens a small production of tea, giving us the range to flavour the fragrances of fresh leaves.
During this period the activities happen at a much slower pace, taking enough time to talk with people, learn and experiment with our own hands.

In this travel you will find everything that makes up Eastern Leaves: our Yunnan, an in-depth of Chinese culture, and all the people that makes our tea-journey meaningful.

June 24th - July 8th, 2025: Early summer in Yunnan

Info and reservation

From farmers and tea scholars

In our travels we bring all that we are: our years of technical experience as tea growers and scholars in Yunnan, our long-term relationships with like-minded growers in other Chinese provinces and ceramic artists, and all the our passion.

Attentive organisation

We organize our travels with the same care that we use for our teas and our courses: we consider our activities as a whole, a multidimensional exploration of the leaves we love that needs careful and passionate support to reveal all its beauty.

Independent

We organize our itineraries with our own resources, without relying on any travel agency: we visit the places that shaped our tea journey and that still make us wonder, sitting at the tea table with the tea professionals we esteem the most.

Itinerary

Day #1 - South of te clouds

Kunming, June 24th

We welcome our guests to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, located 2,100 meters above sea level, nestled between the tropical south and the Himalayan north.

Thanks to its mild climate, it is known as the Spring City and serves as the capital of pu'er tea, where twenty-five cultural groups continue to live and thrive.

Kunming is the hub of the pu'er tea trade and one of the most important tea markets in all of China, both in terms of value and culture. Here, the best tea professionals meet with farmers and collectors in endless conversations that shape the contemporary pu'er tea scene.

Photo gallery: Kunming

DAY #2 - TEA STUDIES IN THE HEART OF YUNNAN

Kunming, June 25th

We meet Li Haibo and Li Jiajia, the teacher who teaches gongfucha practise and ceremony: we study technique and movements to brew Chinese teas properly, sipping some leaves from his impressive collections. 

After a lunch with private chef, we will join Master top teacher Li Haibo for an in-depth seminar on Yixing clay: he will prepare several teas using different Yixing pieces from his collection, telling about their history and most important shapes.

It is a day of study and amusement, in the frame of the "spring city" and its urban nature.

Photo gallery: Kunming

DAY #3 - OF MOUNTAINS RIDGES AND KINGS

Dali, June 26th

We arrive in the Dali highland by train: in front us the Erhai Lake, that for the 40Km of its majestic length is crown by the Cang Mountain Range, one of the most spectacular in China.

This land flourished since the VIII century with the Nanzhao Kingdom, and all around the shores of the Erhai lake, where multiple preserved remains of many dynasties. 

The landscape sweeten our day dedicated to history, culture and tea: we are going to taste pu'er teas that once transited here through the Ancient Tea Horse Road paired with local delicacies, tea leaves, and medicinal herbs, that grow in this incredible biodiversity.

Photo gallery: Dali

DAY #4 - FLAVORS OF ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS

Dali, June 27th

We wake up with sunrise on the crystal clear lake, and we head to the Zhang Family Residence: it is an architectural masterpiece that best represents the Bai architectural art in place in this same location since Tang dynasty. 

We continue our day visiting one of the most stunning Chinese landmarks: the Three Pagodas that surrounds the Chongsheng Temple, a symmetrical complex built in the 9th century and survived intact until nowadays. 

We end our days in the hot-springs nourished by the Cang mountains spring water, to restore us and to sweeten the evening chill.

Photo gallery: Dali

Day #5 - A magnificent cross-road

Shaxi, June 28th

We begin our day at the Sideng Market Square, a UNESCO-listed site that once served as a bustling trade hub for tea, salt, and horses. As we stroll through its well-preserved cobbled streets, we’ll visit the Xingjiao Temple, a centuries-old Buddhist temple that reflects the cultural fusion of Han and Bai traditions.

A locally prepared meal awaits in a quiet courtyard, with farm-to-table specialties from the valley, featuring foraged mushrooms, tofu dishes, and hand-ground buckwheat pancakes.
After lunch we enjoy the Bai culture tea ceremony, symbolizing life’s stages, from bitterness to sweetness, and emphasizes wild herbs and roasted grains.

In the afternoon we reach the Shizhong temple* in the Shibaoshan Grottoes, that has intricate frescoes and stone carvings dating back to the Nanzhao Kingdom (8th-9th century) which provide a rare glimpse into ancient Bai culture, Buddhist influence, and daily life along the Tea Horse Road.

*If the weather allows we hike for about 1.5 hours, otherwise we go by car.

Day #6 - THE CONTEMPORARY TEA SCENE

Dali to Kunming, June 29th

In the morning we leave Dali and we travel to Kunming by express train.

We visit the local tea market for professionals, with multiple chances to review and enrich the leaf-based experiences we had during our travel. It is an important place to feel the contemporary tea-scene in Yunnan: here every notable company is represented, with the best of its production.

We stroll around and we taste some aged teas with a tea professionals; we dine here, in one of our family restaurant, that is used to serve the tea community.

Photo gallery: Kunming

Day #7 - THE ENCHANTED MOUNTAIN

Kunming to Xishuangbanna, June 30th

Yunnan is a blessed land: thanks to its favourable climate, the variety of altitudes and micro-environment, and the wide cultural diversity of its valleys, here we find an incredible variety of foods. Thus, before leaving its capital Kunming, we pay a visit to the local market, where we can explore tastes and purchase our favorite food to accompany us during the way south.

In the afternoon we travel by express train to Xishuangbanna, the thousand-year old old capital of the Dai kingdom.
Here the Dai minority culture is still lively and spread until nowadays, and here we have our tea studio, surrounded by the most prestigious tea mountains.

Gallery: Kunming

Day #8 - Hike: off the beaten track

Nannuo forest, July 1st

Nannuo mountain has a thousand year history with tea, and due to its wilder history has an incomparable richness of tea forests: our travel into pu’er starts from here, walking to pay homage to the oldest 800-year-old tree, that is considered the king of Nannuo mountain, and whose location and story are so meaningful for our travel into pu’er tea.

After a typical Hani culture lunch in the mountain, with locally grown raw material, herbs, and spices, we stay in the mountain to visit a a village and to assist the latest summer tea production experiences these unique fragrances and gestures, guided by a local farmer.

Before going back to the town, we visit an abandoned factory that was built originally in the late '30s, and was a fundamental milestone for the history of Nannuo mountain, and Yunnanese tea.

Gallery: Nannuo

Day #9 - THE HEART OF TEA TRADE

Menghai and Xishuangbanna, July 2nd

Menghai is the center of the most renowned - and busiest - area for the production of pu'er tea: it is surrounded by the Bulang area with Laobanzhang and Laoman'e, Pasha, Nannuo, Naka and many others, and brings together all the best professionals and factories. 

We visit a pu'er tea refining workshop and explore the local economy while dedicating our day to sampling the greatest teas. 

In the late afternoon we visit a lush tropical garden surrounded by forest, which houses the ceramic workshop of an innovative master we love: Qiu Laoshi and his creations. His work is deeply rooted in his territory: he uses only local sands and plant-based ashes for his glazes, and each of his production-season has a different hue.

Gallery: Menghai and Qiu Laoshi

Day #10 - Treasures of Bulang mountain

Bulang mtn., July 3rd

In the morning we head to Laoman’e village, the most historical and cultural village of the area, with a lively ancient temple that is the old keeper of the local culture and pu’er tea.

After lunch we visit the most famous village in the area, a symbol of the skyrocketing prices of pu'er tea: Laobanzhang, with its historic trees, evidence of ancient domestication, and the maximum security village that protects its treasure.

During this day at the origin of tea we will live and drive through scenic ridges and valleys; and in both villages we visit we will notice the same timeless connection between the Bulang and Hani people and their tea forests, a tradition passed down for over a thousand years.

Gallery: Laobanzhang and Laoman'e

Day #11 -

Mengkun and Xishuangbanna, July 4th

In the morning we head to Mengkun, to visit the mountain retreat of a local artist who is the living representative of his ethnic minority, the Hani-Akha: his name is Shuosan, and he has built a very personal museum in his native village, with ancient fabrics and cultural relics.

After a typical Hani culture lunch in Shuosan's garden, with locally grown raw material, herbs, and spices, we head back to our studio to assist to an incense workshop and seminar: we go through 2000 years of fragrant history, actively studying the most important components, benefits, and interaction of different agarwood with different teas.

Gallery: Shuosan

Day #12 - Flowery fragrance and pu’er tea

Yiwu, July 5th

We head southeast toward the border with Laos, with the Yiwu peaks as our destination. This region is home to a diverse range of flavors, landscapes, and producers; forests of ancient tea trees stretch through the valleys, connected by the same road that hosted tribute tea caravans for centuries.

Upon arriving in Yiwu town, we settle into a small hotel with a well-kept garden, a terrace, and multiple tea rooms. We then take a walk through Yiwu’s most historically significant homes and lanes, visiting the square where pu'er tea was loaded and traded for generations, as well as the local museum, located at the first stop of the Ancient Tea Horse Road.

Gallery: Yiwu

DAY #13 - FLOWERY FRAGRANCE AND PU’ER TEA

Yiwu, July 6th

We wake up surrounded by the peaks and scents of Yiwu, and after a proper tea session we head for the inner land of the area, diving in the cultural diversity of te area.

We visit two different tea villages and forests: Luoshuidong, with its remarkable trees, a sanctuary to its king-tree, and the ancient road; we take a long walk through its lanes and its trees, on the same stone-path that men and horses walked since the origin of the trade.

The second village is Mahei, an old Han culture village that determines what Yiwu means and taste. It is inhabited by the first migrants that settled here during the early tributary era,

Gallery: Yiwu

Day #14 - Tea and Dai culture:leaves and pottery

Xishuangbanna, July 7th

We head to Jinuo Mountain, east of the Mekong River, one of the oldest tea mountains with the widest variety of flora. It is home to one of China’s youngest officially recognized ethnic groups, the Jinuo people. As we enter their villages, we are welcomed by traditional bamboo houses set against ancient tea forests.

We visit a Jinuo family tea garden, where tea trees—some over a hundred years old—grow alongside dense tropical forest. The Jinuo approach to tea cultivation is closely tied to their animist beliefs and respect for nature, with generational knowledge of the land.

After a local lunch with bamboo-roasted rice, wild-foraged vegetables, and hand-ground chili pastes, we head to our studio for a seminar and tasting on Yunnan Wulong teas, exploring one last fragrant variant of the valley that has hosted us.

Galleries: Jinuo

Day #15 - A journey of fragrances

Xishuangbanna, July 8th

It is time to wrap-up all the tastes, teas, people, places and experiences we have encountered through our travel: we meet in the morning in our tea studio to brew together the very best mountains and vintages. 

We prepare some Guanguan tea on the fire to warm up our soul before saying our goodbye.

Our travel is designed by us, and it is independent by any travel agency: we bring you with us on Eastern Leaves routes, guided by a farmer and tea scholar, through places, tastes and people that are most menaningful for us.

From our travelers

I still can't believe I was in all these amazing places

"I am drinking a rock tea from Wuyishan at home, a month after our trip. Brewed in a beautiful Yixing pot that I bought in actual Yixing, and tea from the mountain that I hiked on. I still can't believe I was in all these amazing places... I am reminiscing about this holiday a lot. It was just perfect. People were incredibly nice. We had wonderful encounters with lots of lovely different tea people and the people in our group where the best. Tea people are so nice. We saw incredible things, drank the best teas and had so much fun together. Everything that was abstract for me beforehand, became concrete while traveling. It's hard to capture my feelings in words, but but I am back home for a month now and there was not a single day that I didn't think about the trip. I wasn't homesick while traveling, but I am tripsick now.

And all of this took place under the caring and enthusiastic guidance of Vivian and Lorenzo, truly two of the most kind, warm-hearted and knowledgeable people that I know."

W.E., from The Netherlands

We have become more sensitive and have touched beauty

"I want to consider a different approach. I don't want to make a review of what went well and what didn't go well. I don't want to dwell on individual stages and describe a fantastic world. I reject any image of travel, tea, an extraordinary country and all that. I want to forget any kind of knowledge I have. Tea lovers already know all about these things. I want to tell them that they don't need "yesterday" because it is the necessary condition to savor any moment with its different temperatures, colors and fragrances. Isn't this what happens when you drink forgotten tea? Isn't it like drinking a new tea, after all? When we abandoned the concept of tea bags, what did we do? We entered an ancient forest for the first time. We put our hands in the clay. We tasted food with a sparkling and surprising flavour. We have become more sensitive and have touched beauty. And this is where the world of Eastern Leaves becomes real"

D.N., from Italy

Our travel package includes accommodation in selected, cosy hotels, all the internal transportation, and meals. It doesn't include the flight from/to your country of origin, visas (but we support your application), and insurance.

Once you decide to travel with us, we assist you in everything we can, following our experience with travellers from all over the world.

We apply special rates for our Eastern Academy alumni: contact us to choose a date and customise together your travel at the origin of tea!

Food: Learn through tasting

Along with tea and culture, we place a high value on food: we select the most interesting meals and, above all, to immerse you in our reality of people and places. Whenever possible, we cook in our studio to chill between excursions and to sample foods discovered along the way.
Vegetarian options are plentiful, including numerous variations on tofu, beans, and cooking techniques that are part of the Chinese tradition.

Accommodation

We spend the majority of our nights in a small private villa adjacent to our studio, making it easy to begin each day with tastings and studying.
In every other city, we stay in trusted hotels on which we have come to rely over the years, and in some cases, they have become second homes to us due to their excellent service and tea with a view.

Transportation

We travel through the East Coast cities by rapid train (and yes, tea on the train is a must-have feature in our tours!) and then by private car to each destination; we fly to Yunnan and then drive our own private SUV to ensure the highest level of safety, comfort, and flexibility.

Contact us

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Further travel options

China Tea Tour - May

May 1st - May 20th, 2025

This tour crosses the historical tea line of the east coast, before immersing in our Yunnan: it starts from Yixing, before proceeding to Huangshan and Qimen valley, where we visit extensively the most important production areas.

From there we travel to the Wuyishan valley, where we visit extensively the most important production areas, and from where we start to Tongmuguan, the birth-place of red tea, and Jianyang, the ancient site of production for the Jianzhang teaware, Tenmoku in Japanese.

For the second part of the tour we fly to our Yunnan, where we'll immerse in pu'er lands of Xishuangbanna, following the traces of pu'er tea from the ancient days until the contemporaneity.

Itinerary and booking

Future dates

Summer, Autumn, and Winter 2025/2026

Our Summer Tour in August, covering Sichuan and Yunnan, is currently fully booked. However, you can still join our waiting list.

This Autumn, we are planning an East Coast China Tour between October and November. Subscriptions are open, and we are currently refining the itinerary—stay tuned for the final version, which will be published soon!

As always, our winter tour will take place between December and January during the Winter Holidays.

Feel free to reach out for more details—we’d love to hear from you!

Pre-booking and suggestions

Find us

Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China

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