From Yangshuo to Zhaoping

Itinerary

• Day 1: Yangshuo - Zhaoping

  Meet your guide and driver at your lodge in Yangshuo and drive toward the northeast to Zhaoping. Your first stop is Huangyao, famed for its old town built like a fortress to prevent bandits nearly a thousand years ago. Strolling through its narrow alleys, you will see quaint houses, ancestral halls, and theaters. There are also many chances to taste local snacks with unique flavors. At the entrance of the ancient fortress is the former site of the CPC Guangxi Province Committee, where you can learn some history of the Chinese Communist Party.

  After lunch in Huangyao, drive about 1.5 hours to the Hometown Tea Expo Garden, with a photography stop at Dongtanling. Settle down in your room and then walk into the workshop to see the tea processing with machines, enjoy a tea ceremony if it is available, and try the glutinous rice cake making.

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  • Zhaoping

• Day 2: Zhaoping - Yangshuo

  Get up early to pick tea leaves from the plantation and then turn the fresh leaves into green tea in the most traditional way.

  Most people like tea for its bright colors and pleasing aromas, but locals in Zhaoping and the surrounding areas favor oil tea with unique flavors. This morning, you will try to make and sample the oil tea: Mash the tea leaves boiled with ginger, garlic or some other herbs, cook what you got with bone broth, and then filter out the remains of the ingredients. When drinking, add puffed rice, salt, chopped green onions, and some other specially-made cookies according to your taste. Such tea soup can help the people living in the humid and hot mountains of southern China remove the dampness in the body and refresh their energy.

  At noon, a multi-course tea banquet will not only satisfy your taste bud but also present you with more cuisine culture in this area. After lunch, hike down the tea mountain and enjoy the picturesque scenery along the way before heading back to Yangshuo.

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