Everlasting Rainbow, High Mountain Tea Gardens, Romantic Cherry Blossoms… Fairytales Are Real
Fuzhou's Taitai Cherry Blossom Tea Garden is renowned worldwide after appearing on the cover of 'China National Geography'. The cherry blossoms adorn the green tea fields, creating a stunning sight. Meanwhile, deep in the mountains of Liyang, at the end of March, when the spring flowers bloom, there is also a tea garden that is no less beautiful than that in Fuzhou. Besides the fragrance of tea and the romance of cherry blossoms, Liyang is also famous for its Rainbow Road and the surrounding rolling mountains, making it truly captivating.
‘Fish-flavored tea and fragrant fish’ is the first impression people have of Liyang. Here, the tea fragrance is Liyang's specialty – Taihu White Tea. There are nearly 70,000 acres of tea fields scattered throughout Liyang's mountains, which is the main source of income for local farmers. The tea trees, grown on the mountainside, are also a rare sight in spring.
Following the winding 1st Road upwards, shrouded in mist, the continuous tea forests are barely visible in the depths of the mountains. This cherry blossom tea garden is not far from the roadside, hidden on the back of a small hillside; it’s hard to notice if you don't get close. It was discovered by chance, and I instantly fell in love with it.
As Li Shangyin wrote, ‘How long will cherry blossoms be in full bloom? It’s unknown whether willows are green and peaches are red.’ The romantic cherry blossoms combined with the subtle fragrance of tea make it a spring delight. This tea garden is located on the waist of a small hill, and as the terrain rises and falls, the tea field seems to ripple like waves. At the foot of the hill is a lake and a marshland of withered yellow reeds, adding many colors and vitality to the tea garden.
The cherry blossoms in Fuzhou are neatly planted along the ridges, separating the tea fields into sections. In contrast, here the cherry blossoms are more a natural, spontaneous creation of nature. Scattered throughout the green fields are clusters of tender pink and rose-red, it's more like a work of birds than a man-made planting.
In the morning, it’s the most beautiful time for the tea fields. To capture the rare light and shadow, I got up at 4 am and drove two hours from Yangzhou, which is a bit crazy, but everything I saw and photographed was worth it.
Just as the sun shone through the distant mountain peaks, the dark vision suddenly brightened. Due to the low terrain, from the summit to the foot of the hill, the tea garden was quickly illuminated. The gentle morning sunlight not only illuminated the clusters of pink, but also cast a long shadow on the tea field. In the distance, the mountains were shrouded in a thin mist, giving a feeling of soaring through the clouds, as if you were in a fairy tale.
Anyone who has been to Liyang knows that there is an eternally disappearing rainbow – Liyang 1st Road. This cherry blossom tea garden is just one undiscovered corner of Liyang 1st Road. The biggest feature of Liyang 1st Road is the three mountains and two lakes in the center of the road, which connects countless small and medium-sized tourist attractions, allowing Liyang’s beauty to step out of the deep mountains and present itself to the world.
The beauty of America’s 1st Road is already well-known to the world, but Liyang’s beauty is still hidden deep in the mountains, and more beautiful scenery is waiting to be discovered. Liyang 1st Road, centered around Liyang’s three famous mountains and two famous lakes, connects countless small and medium-sized tourist attractions, allowing Liyang’s beauty to step out of the deep mountains and present itself to the world.
