Cradle of K-tea
The year is 828. Kim Daeryeom, a royal envoy to the Tang Empire, comes back from China with tea seeds. By a decree of King Heugdeok of Silla, he plants them on the slopes of Hwagae Valley in Jiri Mountains. Nearly twelve centuries pass. Kasper, …
Hainan: foodie reconnaissance
A large island on the South China Sea, just slightly off China’s southern coast ––– Hainan. Not only is this the geographically southernmost part of the Middle Kingdom, it is also culturally tied to other southerly southern areas of South China: historical links to Fujian …
Dongshan Ridge 东山岭
I scrambled onto one of the many large boulders tucked on the jungle-overgrown slope to use it as a vantage point. While scoping the hills, I heard some bleats and saw movement in the bushes below me: silhouettes of a goat or two. I quickly …
Hainan: tea vs coffee
China is an empire of tea. You normally don’t associate her with coffee, unlike the neighboring Vietnam. Yet, tucked nearby where these two countries border on the South China Sea, is an island where both Camellia leaves and Coffea beans play a culture-forming role: Hainan. …
Sea of tea
Imagine 40,000 acres of tea. Imagine, or just go to Guizhou and see it yourself! At 25 km of lenght and 4 km of width, the “Tea Sea” in Meitan county is hailed as the largest contiguous area of tea plantation in the world. Directions: …