As people visited the Jiangsu Garden at the Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition on June 3, they had the chance to watch tea-making and learn about tea culture amid celebration of the 60th anniversary of naming Yuhua Tea (Rain-flower Tea), which has been inscribed on the list of intangible cultural heritages of Jiangsu Province.
Tea masters from Nanjing shared the techniques of stir-frying and brewing tea at the expo, bringing a cultural feast for Chinese and foreign tourists.
Hou Hongmei, 50, started to practice stir-frying, a method for roasting tea leaves, at 19. She said the prime time to make tea is between March 20 and April 20 each year. Stir-frying tea leaves is a job of techniques and can be boring for some. Hou said she is always happy to see the green tea leaves to get roasted in her hands and release unique fragrance.
According to Wang Juhua, deputy inspector of Nanjing Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jiangnan Zhicha Association was established at the Zhongshan Mountain in Nanjing in 1907, the first research institute dedicated to tea in China, and it also marked the start of modern tea planting and production in the country. After 60 years of development, Yuhua Tea has become a symbol of Nanjing. A blending of traditional agriculture, modern techniques and rural rejuvenation, the development of Yuhua Tea today also drives an industry and increases people’s income.
