Yesterday, Saturday April 26, 2008, a few of us went to a tea plantation outside of Yangshuo. We rode bike. Three and a half hours there. Actually we walked our bikes most of the way as it was too steep for us to handle on the bikes. Here Gary, I, Sunny, Amy, Aaron and Doris rest in the shade of a tree while Kelly takes the picture.

On the way we carried the bikes across a pile of rocks in the middle of the road and pushed them around road construction. Gary, normally my Chinese teacher, was our guide. He and Aaron did most of the carrying. Gary thought the rocks in the road were not a landslide but the workers getting rocks for a wall under construction just down the road. OK.

The scenery along the way was remarkable and from the tea plantation was even more magnificent. Tea is grown at high elevations since the plants need excellent drainage. They also like a humid climate and watering by rain.

This plantation employs 120 workers. The workers come from outside the local community from less prosperous villages. A picker is paid 8Y per kilo and may pick 6 to 8 kilos a day. Gary thinks they make about 1000Y a month, that’s similar to what a teacher makes.

The first picking of the tea in the spring is considered the best. The pickings continue through summer and fall. They pick the new growth for tea and developed leaves for tea pillows. We asked these pickers if they drink green tea after work. They said they like clear mountain water.


In the middle of the rows and rows of tea bushes, some workers were building a new stone office building. Their first task was to get the stones up to the building site. We were glad to see they had a winch to help them with this chore!

Each evening the day’s tea picking is dried. First it lays on the floor for an hour or two.

Then it is dried by heat in a machine. When we first arrived at the tea plantation these females were carrying wood that would be needed for the firing.

When the day's drying shift began this worker threw handfuls into one end of this dryer. The machine later spewed the tea onto the floor where it sets for a half hour.

Then it will be ground, pushed, pressed…I wasn’t sure what. It is sifted and again I’m not sure what. Much was lost in translation. There seemed to be a six or seven step to the processing of this green tea. The drying/processing work started at three and was scheduled to continue until midnight.

After witnessing a bit of the drying process, we sampled the product. The demand for their tea is greater than they can provide. They have a shop in Yangshuo but also sell to Beijing, Shanghai and other major Chinese cities.

We had a bit of a surprise while we were drinking tea. Their packaging says the plantation is 6 kilometers from Yangshuo. Before we set out in the morning Gary told us it was 12. During the ride/walk there we told Gary it was 20! Whatever the distance, we flew home as it was now mostly all downhill! Three hours to get there, one and a half to get home.