FROM SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2024
China Tea Tour
Shanghai - Yixing - Wuyishan - Tongmuguan - Jianyang - Fuzhou - Kunming - Xishuangbanna - Nannuo - Laobanzhang - Yiwu
We selected the places, the people and the leaves we love the most, for an unforgettable experience immersed in the tea passion that we share.
After meeting in Shanghai, our journey begins on the east coast of China in Yixing city, a centuries-old pottery district, where National artists Yuan Weixin and Lian Meiping lead us through their work, clay, and ancient kilns. We then travel by train to Wuyishan, where the striking scenery all around us tells the stories of the prestigious rock teas, of the red teas found in the stunning Tongmuguan natural park, and the Jianzhan pottery found in the ancient Jianyang district, the most sought-after ceramic used for the emperors of Song dynasty. We then head further south to Fuzhou to catch the mesmerizing fragrance of fresh jasmine flowers, before crossing southern China to reach our forests in Yunnan.
The second half of the tour starts in Yunnan's capital city of Kunming, where we study the theory and ritual of gongfucha tea in an exquisite studio. From there, we go south to the areas that are most significant for pu'er tea production: Laobanzhang, Hekai, our tea forest in Nannuo and the most esteemed villages in Yiwu.
In this travel you find everything that makes up Eastern Leaves: our Yunnan, a comprehensive look at Chinese culture, the peaks and rivers of Wuyishan park, our favorite artists from Yixing and of Dai minorities, and all the people that give meaning to our adventure in tea.
China tea tour
Monday Sep. 2nd - Friday Sep. 20th, 2024
Our travel is designed by us, and it is independent from 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 meaningful for us.
Our travel package includes accommodation in selected, cosy hotels, all the internal transportation, and meals. It doesn't include the A/R 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!
Contact us
Further travel options
Spring tea tour
May 6th-18th, 2024
The 2024 tea leaves are still tender buds moistened by the tail of the rainy season; the Yunnan mountains awaits for the spring, with fragrances and aromas to be discovered.
We brew together the best teas, we speak with the producers and assist them in their work, we walk their lands; we will be hosted by skilled pottery masters and professionals, we will attend to scholars' workshop on Gongfucha and Yixing, and we will live of our passion for tea.
summer tea tour
July 20th - August 7th, 2024
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, and from where we travel to Anxi, home of the world-famous Tieguanyin tea, and Jingdezhen porcelain district.
From there 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.
Winter Tour
Dec 23rd, 2024 - Jan 4th, 2025
In Yunnan winter is so gentle, like a fresh breeze, and it is probably the best season to enjoy the pu'er tea valleys.
We were really happy to receive many requests from our old travelers to repeat the tour with us: we are thus renewing our wintertime Yunnanese route, including new areas, farmers and experiences; we are on a journey, and we will propose a completely new itinerary that will fulfil our wishes as pu'er and Yunnan lovers.
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
Customized trips
Tailor your trip, visit us Xishuangbanna for the time of a tea or for extended journeys: let us know about your plan and what you like the most, we are pleased to customise your time here according to your preferences.