Shanghai, May 1st

We welcome you to Shanghai from your country of departure: we arrange for a private pick-up for every traveller, greeting you in a gracious setting that will enable you to get the rest you need while sipping your first cup of tea in China.

It will be our first encounter with tea: it is time to just sip, and get ready for the next morning trip to Yixing.

Yixing, May 2nd

We leave in the morning from Shanghai heading south, towards Yixing and its precious clays. We visit local studios in the afternoon and make our first encounters with the artists and masters whose pieces are already owned by many of you.

The ancient ceramic production district is the vibrant heart of Yixing: artists, students, artisans and museums, with one of the liveliest food cultures on the East coast.

Gallery: Yixing

Yixing, May 3rd

We divide our time between the work of Yixing master Yuan Weixin and the historical landmarks of the area. Together with the masters Yuan Wexin and Lian Meiping, we discover - and touch - the different clays extracted in the famous mine No.4, right in front of their studio. We explore different shapes of teapots, and we follow them in their craft, to learn how a Yixing teapot is created.

During the day we visit several kilns, including a still active dragon kiln, observing all phases of the production process.

Gallery: Yixing

Yixing to Jingdezhen, May 4th

In the morning we visit the Yixing museum, which tells the history of the neighborhood through the centuries, with priceless pieces and the origin of clay through the Chinese dynasties.
Our guide is Lian Meiping, whose work was once hosted in the same museum.

In the afternoon we move to the ancient world capital of porcelain: Jingdezhen, located between a mountain of 高岭土 Kaolin and forests to fuel its kilns, and waterways to reach the court of the Emperor to whom tribute had been paid since the Tang dynasty.

Gallery: Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen, May 5th

We literally walk on ancient ceramics: this neighborhood has been producing ceramics for the imperial court since the Tang Dynasty, and to this day anyone who wants to become a ceramic artist passes through here.

We will then visit the imperial kilns and the ceramic museum, and then we lose ourselves through a selection of artists' and artisans' studios.

Gallery: Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen to Huangshan, May 6th

Jingdezhen is a city that brings together the talent and hope of many young artists from all over China: we continue the visit of the ateliers of our favorite artists, and we freely wonder through their creations.

We arrive in Huangshan City in the late afternoon, on time to enjoy the sunset over Xin'an River.
We explore the historical district of Tunxi, which has much of the well-preserved Ming and Qing dynasty buildings, and we will walk through traditional snacks and antiques shops, here since the Tang dynasty.

Gallery: Huangshan

Huangshan, May 7th

Huangshan refers to the breathtaking yellow mountains that surround these valleys and plains; we explore this land with our travels and tastings, through the terroir of Qimen, Maofeng and Taipinghoukui teas.

We are guided by Xiao Yanzi through the cultivars, trees, and a wide tasting of Qimen teas; in the afternoon we visit the Songluo tea culture Museum, which was the first pan-fry green tea in Anhui.
On our journey we will find antiques and furniture, in a region with one of the most preserved historical heritages of China.

Gallery: Huangshan

Huangshan to Wuyishan, May 8th

In the morning we will leave Huanshang and take a train to northern Fujian, towards the long-awaited mountainous region of Wuyishan.

In the late afternoon we will have a first broad taste of the surrounding landscape that frames our sunset, in a first overview of flavours, cultivars and colours.

Our guide in the "rock rhyme" is Pengbao, a farmer who owns a land in the core Zhengyan area right under the historically celebrated Yingzui 鹰嘴 peak, named after its resemblance to an eagle's beak.

Gallery: Wuyishan

Wuyishan, May 9th

Early in the morning we begin our journey among the rocks: thanks to Pengbao we have privileged access to the heart of Wuyi park. We cover all the most important areas, observing the cultivars, rock formations and having tea and lunch at two temples and a pagoda.

It is a day with a great variety of trees and different micro-environments: we will feel on our skin the variations in temperature and humidity, and we will have a complete horizontal tasting of the area's productions.

Gallery: Wuyishan

Tongmuguan, May 10th

We head towards the gorgeous peaks of the northwest, following the Jiuqu River upstream through canyons and waterfalls, to the ancient village of Tongumuguan where the origin of red tea is preserved.

In this breathtaking landscape surrounded by unspoiled nature, green bamboo and bees working on their flowers, we taste different cultivars of Zhengshan Xiaozhong, including a couple of samples smoked by master Wu Chongfa.

We visit the original production facility on the Jiuqu River and before leaving the mountain we taste an exceptional meal cooked with local raw materials and herbs.

Gallery: Tongmuguan

Jianyang, May 11th

In the morning we move in a south-east direction, towards the ancient Fujianese city of Jianyang, where Jianzhan pottery technique, today also popular in Japan with the name "Tenmoku", was crafted over 1,500 years ago, reaching its maximum popularity during the Song dynasty.

We visit a master's workshop, witness and understand the process of his craft. We will compare the original Song Dynasty cups with today's ones using an electronic enlarger, visit a dragon kiln, and try to glaze our own cups.
The meal is served in an old Fujianese courtyard, and afterwards we move to Fuzhou for the night.

Gallery: Jianzhang

Fuzhou to Kunming, May 12th

We fly to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, located at 2,100 meters above sea level between the tropical south and the Himalayan north.

We cross southern China from east to west, moving from the East China Sea to the heights of Yunnan, from the hot humid climate of Fujian to the freshness of Spring City, the capital of pu'er tea, where 25 cultural groups still live and thrive.

Gallery: Kunming

Kunming, May 13th

We meet Li Haibo, master and top teacher, for an in-depth seminar on the gongfucha practise and ceremony: we study technique and movements to brew properly Chinese teas, preparing some leaves from his impressive collections.

After a lunch with his private chef, he will prepare several teas using different Yixing pieces from his collection, studying their history and most important shapes.

Gallery: Kunming

Kunming - Xishuangbanna, May 14th

We cross Cuihu Lake towards the old city, where we meet one of the most important figures in the contemporary history of pu'er tea: Mr. Hu, who in 2005 walked with a caravan of 120 horses loaded with pu'er tea from the city of Pu'er in southwest Yunnan to Beijing - about 3000 km to the northeast.

We taste some teas from their wide and rare collections, sharing leaves, stories from their past, and insights about the near future.

In the afternoon we head south towards Xishuangbanna.

Gallery: Kunming

Nannuo forest, May 15th

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, which 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 visit an abandoned factory from the late '30s and we then head back to Xishuangbanna for 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: Nannuo mountain

Bulang, May 16th

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 climb the most famous mountain 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.
We also visit the neighbouring micro-valley of Hekai.

Gallery: Laobanzhang and Laoman'e

Yiwu, May 17th

We head southeast toward the border with Laos, with the Yiwu peaks as our destination. They are home to a diverse range of tastes, landscapes, and producers.

We walk among the most historically significant homes and lanes, the square where pu'er tea was loaded and traded for generations, and the local museum, which is located at the first stop of the Ancient Tea Horse Road.

Gallery: Yiwu

Yiwu, May 18th

We wake up surrounded by the peaks and scents of Yiwu, and after a proper tea session.

We visit two different tea villages and forests: Luoshuidong, with its remarkable trees, a sanctuary to its king, and the ancient road; and Mahei, an old Han culture village that determines what Yiwu means and taste.

Gallery: Yiwu