- Longjing (Dragon Well) tea country begins 20-40 minutes west of West Lake: Longjing Village, Meijiawu, Shifeng and Wengjiashan are all free to walk, with no entry gates.
- The prized Mingqian harvest is picked before the Qingming festival around April 5; authentic pre-Qingming West Lake lots sell for roughly ¥300-1,500+ per 100 g.
- Both branches of the China National Tea Museum are free, open about 9:00-16:30 and closed Mondays.
- Since 2001 only tea processed in the protected West Lake zone may be sold as Xihu Longjing, and since 2020 legitimate producers must carry the tea association anti-counterfeit label.
- Shanghai Hongqiao is 45-60 minutes away by G-train (second class about ¥47-120), and Metro Line 1 then reaches the lakefront in about 20 minutes.
Why Hangzhou Is China’s Green Tea Capital
Hangzhou is the only major Chinese city where a UNESCO World Heritage landscape and a protected tea appellation share the same hills. The West Lake Cultural Landscape — the lake plus the wooded slopes that enclose it on three sides — was inscribed in 2011 under criteria ii, iii and vi, honored for the temples, pagodas, causeways and farmed hillsides that writers have celebrated since the Tang dynasty (618-907). Those farmed hillsides are tea: the flat, jade-green leaf called Longjing, or Dragon Well, the most famous green tea in China.
What makes the city unusual for tea travelers is how compressed it all is. From the lakefront you can be standing between rows of tea bushes in Meijiawu or Longjing Village in under an hour by public bus, and tasting the spring pick at a farmhouse table shortly after that. No other stop on a China tea itinerary delivers a complete appellation — fields, villages, a national museum and a working leaf market — inside a single city bus network.
This page is the hub for our Hangzhou coverage. Below you will find the four core villages compared, the museum explained, a harvest calendar with real price bands, anti-counterfeit buying advice and transport logistics, with links out to our detailed Hangzhou guides as you go.
West Lake Longjing at a Glance
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| The tea | Longjing (Dragon Well): pan-fired, flat-leaf green tea |
| Protected zone | Since a 2001 Zhejiang rule, only tea processed in the traditional West Lake area may be labeled Xihu Longjing |
| UNESCO status | West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou, inscribed 2011 |
| Core growing areas | Longjing Village, Meijiawu, Shifeng (Lion Peak), Wengjiashan |
| Peak harvest | Mid-March to about April 5 (Mingqian, the pre-Qingming pick) |
| Entry costs | Villages free, both museum branches free; farmhouse tastings about ¥10-80 a cup |
| From Shanghai | G-train Hongqiao to Hangzhou East in 45-60 minutes, second class about ¥47-120 |
The Tea Villages West of the Lake
Four named growing areas anchor the appellation, and each rewards a different kind of visit. None charges admission — you pay only when you sit down to taste or carry leaf away.
| Village or area | Known for | Getting there | What you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longjing Village | The namesake Dragon Well spring and the Eighteen Imperial Tea Bushes below Shifeng | Buses and taxis along Longjing Road | Free to walk; pay for tastings and leaf |
| Meijiawu | More than 160 family-run teahouses and spring picking with farm households; about 600 years of recorded tea growing | Bus 12, 103 or 180, or West Lake shuttle line 3; about 10 km from downtown | Free entry; tea from about ¥10-80 a cup |
| Shifeng (Lion Peak) | The most sought-after Longjing designation, from slopes above Hugong Temple | Hillside paths above Longjing Village | Free to hike; the highest leaf prices in the zone |
| Wengjiashan | Terraced fields around the tea museum’s Longjing branch at 268 Wengjiashan, Longjing Road | Stops along Longjing Road | Free |
Longjing Village and the Eighteen Imperial Tea Bushes
The village that named the tea wraps around a fold of hills where terraces climb straight out of the lanes. Its most storied plot is tiny: the Eighteen Imperial Tea Bushes in front of Hugong Temple, at the foot of Shifeng, which the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty designated imperial tea after visiting West Lake. The bushes still stand, ringed by a low fence and, in late March, by photographers. Walking is free and the loop past the spring, the temple plot and the upper terraces takes a slow half day; our Longjing Village day-trip guide maps the full route, teahouse etiquette and what a tasting actually costs.
Meijiawu
Meijiawu, about 10 km from downtown in the West Lake hills, is where tea hospitality became the village economy: more than 160 teahouses run by local families line its lanes, and reception halls walk visitors through picking, pan-firing and grading. In spring, households hand you a basket and take you into their rows; they then show you how the morning’s leaves are fired. A cup of the family’s own Longjing runs from about ¥10 to ¥80 depending on grade, which makes Meijiawu the cheapest place in Hangzhou to taste across quality levels in one sitting.
Shifeng and Wengjiashan
Serious buyers talk about Shifeng, the Lion Peak zone above Hugong Temple, the way Burgundy drinkers talk about grand cru slopes: it is the designation with the strongest reputation and the highest prices in the appellation. Wengjiashan, one ridge over, pairs quiet terraces with the tea museum’s newer branch and sees far fewer tour groups than Meijiawu. If you want to wake up among the bushes rather than day-trip to them, several properties around these slopes now cater specifically to tea travelers — our retreats guide in Related Guides below compares them.
China National Tea Museum: Two Free Branches
China’s national museum of tea sits inside the growing zone itself, split across two campuses on Longjing Road: the original Shuangfeng branch at No. 88, surrounded by demonstration fields, and the Longjing branch at No. 268 Wengjiashan, added on May 1, 2015 beside working plantations. Admission is free at both, hours run about 9:00 to 16:30, and the museum closes Mondays; the ticket office can be reached at +86 571 8797 0012. Galleries cover processing, brewing vessels and the history of Chinese tea, and the grounds double as some of the easiest terraces to photograph in Hangzhou. Details are listed on the Hangzhou government portal. Plan 1.5 to 2 hours for Shuangfeng, then walk or ride onward along Longjing Road — the branches sit on the natural route between the lakefront and Longjing Village.
When to Visit: The Harvest Calendar
Longjing is a spring tea, and the calendar drives both prices and the visitor experience. Timing advice for tea regions worldwide is in our seasonal guide to visiting tea plantations; the Hangzhou specifics are below.
| Window | What happens | For visitors |
|---|---|---|
| Mid to late March | First picking begins; the earliest lots command the year’s top prices | Terraces busiest with pickers; teahouses pour the new season’s first cups |
| Late March to about April 5 | Mingqian (pre-Qingming) peak — the most prized grade of the year | The classic visit; around Tomb-Sweeping Day is the best window to join farm families picking at Meijiawu |
| Mid-April to May | Picking continues after Qingming; prices step down from the Mingqian peak | Good balance of activity, availability and value |
| June to September | Bushes grow out lush and green | Quietest trails; hot, humid afternoons — walk early, then take a long teahouse session |
| October to February | Fields rest; no harvest scenes | Museum, teahouses and empty terraces; clear winter light on the lake |
Buying Real Xihu Longjing
Longjing is the most imitated tea in China, and the price ladder is steep. Genuine pre-Qingming West Lake leaf generally trades from about ¥300 to ¥1,500 or more per 100 g, and celebrated Mingqian lots — above all from Shifeng — run to several thousand yuan per 500 g. Anything dramatically cheaper that claims West Lake origin deserves skepticism: much of what is sold simply as Longjing is grown outside the protected zone.
Two protections work in your favor. First, the appellation itself: since 2001, Zhejiang rules reserve the name Xihu (West Lake) Longjing for tea processed in the traditional zone. Second, labeling: since 2020 the West Lake Longjing Tea Industry Association has required producers in the zone to affix anti-counterfeit labels, and farmers receive origin tags tied to their own harvest, each tag covering 250 g of tea. Ask to see the label before you buy, buy at the source from the family that fired the leaf, and taste before committing. The broader etiquette of tasting rooms and gift-grade tea culture is covered in our Chinese tea culture primer, linked below.
Getting There and Around
Hangzhou works as a day trip from Shanghai, but the villages justify a night or two. G-trains link Shanghai Hongqiao with Hangzhou East in 45 to 60 minutes, with more than 260 departures a day and second-class seats at roughly ¥47-120. From Hangzhou East, Metro Line 1 reaches Longxiangqiao station by the lakefront in about 20 minutes for a few yuan — use exit C4 for the lake.
For the tea country itself, bus 12, 103 or 180 or West Lake shuttle line 3 serve Meijiawu, and stops along Longjing Road cover the museum branches and Longjing Village; taxis and ride-hailing make the same runs in 20-30 minutes from the city center. A practical loop: lakefront first, then Longjing Road for the museum, then over the ridge to Meijiawu for the afternoon.
Getting Started: A One-Day Plan
Start early in Longjing Village while the light is low: walk the terraces, find the Eighteen Imperial Tea Bushes at Hugong Temple, and have the first tasting where the pourer can tell you which slope the leaf came from. Late morning, drop down Longjing Road to the tea museum’s Shuangfeng campus — free, and far more useful once you have already tasted something. Cross to Meijiawu for a farmhouse lunch and a side-by-side tasting up the grade ladder, and in spring ask about joining the afternoon pick. If ceremony interests you more than fields, swap the afternoon for one of the city’s structured sessions — our workshops guide below compares the immersive options. End back at the lake for sunset, where the hills you walked frame the water.
Related Guides
- Immersive Tea Ceremony Workshops in Hangzhou
- Luxury Tea Retreats near the Longjing Fields
- Chinese Tea Culture: History, Traditions and Practices
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Longjing tea village free to visit?
Yes. There is no entry gate or ticket for Longjing Village, Meijiawu or the surrounding terraces, and both branches of the China National Tea Museum are also free. You pay only for what you consume: farmhouse tastings run from about ¥10 to ¥80 a cup, and leaf is priced by grade.
When is Longjing tea harvested?
Picking begins in mid to late March and peaks before the Qingming festival around April 5. That pre-Qingming window produces Mingqian tea, the year’s most prized and expensive grade. Harvesting continues through April and May at gentler prices, so a mid-April visit still catches live picking and fresh spring leaf in the teahouses.
How much does real West Lake Longjing cost?
Authentic pre-Qingming Xihu Longjing generally sells for about ¥300 to ¥1,500 or more per 100 g, and top Mingqian lots from Shifeng reach several thousand yuan per 500 g. Tea offered far below those bands is usually grown outside the protected West Lake zone, whatever the packaging says, so treat bargains as a warning sign.
How do I spot fake West Lake Longjing?
Look for the anti-counterfeit label that the West Lake Longjing Tea Industry Association has required of producers in the protected zone since 2020; farmers also carry origin tags, each covering 250 g of their own harvest. Buying directly from a growing family in Longjing Village, Meijiawu or Wengjiashan, after tasting, is the most reliable route.
How do I get to Hangzhou’s tea villages from Shanghai?
Take a G-train from Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou East — 45 to 60 minutes, second class about ¥47-120, with over 260 daily departures. Ride Metro Line 1 about 20 minutes to Longxiangqiao for the lakefront, then reach Meijiawu by bus 12, 103 or 180 or West Lake shuttle line 3, or take a 20-30 minute taxi.
What are the Eighteen Imperial Tea Bushes?
They are a small fenced plot of tea bushes in front of Hugong Temple at the foot of Shifeng, which the Qianlong Emperor designated imperial tea after visiting West Lake. The bushes became the symbolic heart of the appellation and remain a free, five-minute stop on any walk through Longjing Village today.
Can I pick tea with farmers in Hangzhou?
Yes, in spring. Farm households in Meijiawu and Longjing Village take visitors into their rows during the March-May season, provide baskets and instruction, and then demonstrate how the fresh leaves are pan-fired. The best window is around Tomb-Sweeping Day in early April; arrange it on arrival at a family teahouse rather than pre-booking online.