China National Tea Museum

Introducing China National Tea Museum
China is the home of green tea which offers benefits such as: bioactive compounds that improve health, improved brain function, increased fat burning and physical performance, and all the antioxidants that lower the risk of various types of cancer. Covering 3.7 hectares of land, China National Tea Museum is dedicated to the art, cultivation and tasting of tea opened in 1991. Located in Longjing (Dragon Well) Village, west of West Lake. This museum is not only a museum but also a tea plantation where a number of different teas are growing and harvested, the most famous one being the Hangzhou Longjing tea. The museum features a well-organized collection of tea emorabilia and paraphernalia to gander at and different samplings of the variety of teas around China.

China National Tea Museum Fast Facts
• Chinese Name: Zhongguo Chaye Bowuguan 中国茶叶博物馆
• Best Time to Visit: All year around
• Recommended Visiting Hours: About 1 to 2 hours
• Things to Do: Photography, Tea Culture
• Opening Hours: 09:00-17:00 from May 1 to Oct 7; 08:30-16:30 from Oct 8 to Apr 30; closed on every Monday
• Entrance Fee: Free
• Address: No.88, Longjing Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province

What to expect at China National Tea Museum

The exhibition halls of China National Tea Museum are housed in pretty modern buildings set among ponds, gardens and rolling tea plantations. Several hours spent here will be most awarding, for you can not only get familiar with the origin, history, development, wares, replicas and varieties of tea, but also the profound tea culture.

The most important display presents a detailed history of the development of tea culture in China—from the plants’ wild origins in Yunnan Province, to the early classic tea literature, to the rise of international trade in tea and the persistence of tea ceremonies until the present day.

During each March, it will host a tea festival. Tea aficionados will flock in from every direction. You can not only sample the most authentic Longjing Tea (Dragon Well Tea), but also can observe the millennium-old tea-cooking craft. The most expensive Longjing Tea is priced at over 100,000 RMB per 200g, which worth its weight in gold.

How to get to China National Tea Museum
• Take bus No. 27 or 87 or Tourist Line 3 and get off at Shuangfeng Station.

Additional travel advice on China National Tea Museum
• The museum is closed on Mondays except for public holidays.