Anhua
China's home of dark tea, with Dongshi Old Street on the Tea Horse Road, the Yongxi covered bridge, high-mountain tea gardens on Yuntai Mountain, Xuefeng Lake and the intangible heritage of Qianliang tea.
Anhua lies in north-central Hunan, southwest of Yiyang. The Zi River crosses the county from west to east, and offshoots of the Xuefeng Mountains rise ridge after ridge, with forest cover above 70%. The county seat is Dongping, while the old county town is Meicheng to the east. Anhua is known as "China's Home of Dark Tea": as early as the Ming dynasty its tea was sold to the northwest as official tribute tea, and dark teas such as Qianliang, Fu brick and Tianjian were shipped out along the Zi River and the Tea Horse Road. Today the county town is lined with tea factories and shops, and dark tea is the main theme of any visit.
Where to go: ① Around Dongping — the China Dark Tea Museum, the old tea market of Huangshaping across the river, Tangjiaguan Ancient Town on the north bank of the Zi River, and nearby Chenshan Green Valley and the Tea Country Flower Sea; ② The Tea Horse Road Scenic Area in Jiangnan town — Dongshi Old Street, the Gaoma Erxi tribute tea gardens and the Yongxi covered bridge, good for a half-day to full-day hike; ③ The west — high-mountain tea gardens on Yuntai Mountain in Malu town and the Liubuxi primeval forest; ④ The south — boat trips on Xuefeng Lake (Zhexi Reservoir) and hiking at Jiulongchi; ⑤ The east — the Anhua Confucian Temple in Meicheng and the Xianxi Meishan Cultural Ecology Park; the Baishaxi Tea Factory in Xiaoyan town lets you watch Qianliang tea being pressed by foot.
The best times to visit are the spring tea season in Apr–May and autumn from Sep–Nov; in summer Yuntai Mountain and Jiulongchi offer cool relief, but the Zi River basin gets frequent heavy rain in Jun–Jul. Getting there: about 3 hours' drive from Changsha, or take a high-speed train to Yiyang or Xinhua and transfer; Anhua Station is served by conventional trains. Allow 2–3 days; sights are spread out, so driving is best. Local specialties include Anhua dark tea, Anhua cured pork, pounded tea and sweet potato noodles. Tips: mountain roads are winding, so watch for falling rocks in the rain; buy dark tea from official factory stores and be wary of high-pressure sales of overpriced "aged tea".
Top sights
- Anhua Tea Horse Road Scenic Area – Well-preserved black tea trade routes around Dongshi in Jiangnan town, linking stone-paved roads, tea pavilions, covered wooden bridges, an…
- Yuntaishan Tea Garden – A high-mountain tea garden at about 1,000 metres in Malu town, with tea rows stretching along the ridgeline wrapped in clouds. Anhua's most…
- Yongxi Bridge – A covered wooden bridge built during the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, over 80 metres long. It is an iconic old bridge on the Tea Hors…
- Huangshaping Ancient Tea Market – A Ming-era tea market street on the bank of the Zi River. It has been a distribution hub for dark tea since the Wanli period, and its tea h…
- China Dark Tea Museum – A national-level thematic museum in the county seat of Anhua devoted to dark tea, with over 2,000 cultural relics. It systematically presen…
- Meishan Culture Eco-park – A national 4A scenic area themed on the ancient Meishan “Man” culture, combining folk performances such as stilt houses, nuo opera and knif…
- Xuefeng Lake (Zhexi Reservoir) – A high-dam lake formed when the Zhexi Hydropower Station blocked the Zi River, with islands scattered across the water. It features granite…
- Tangjiaguan Ancient Town – A Ming-Qing town on the north bank of the Zi River that rose through the tea trade. Stilt houses and bluestone old streets line the river…
- Jiulongchi Peak – A peak in Anhua at 1,622 metres, with alpine meadows, mountain-spring waterfalls and primary-secondary forest. It is a summer retreat for m…
- Chenshan Green Valley – Highland terraces and bamboo forests on the outskirts of the county seat. Mist, terraces and snow each have their own charm through the sea…
- Baishaxi Tea Factory – One of Hunan's earliest state-run dark tea factories, and a unit for the national intangible cultural heritage of thousand-tael tea. Visito…
- Anhua Temple of Confucius – A Confucian temple complex in Meicheng, the former county seat, with red walls, a semicircular pond and the Hall of Great Achievement well…
- Anhua Tea Country Flower Sea – An ecological flower-sea park on the eastern outskirts of the county seat, combining seasonal flower fields, tea gardens and family play ar…
- Liubuxi Nature Reserve – A national nature reserve with very high coverage of primary-secondary forest and many gorges, streams and waterfalls, suited to stream-tre…
- Gaoma Erxi Tea Village – A famous dark tea village in the heart of Daxiong Mountain in Tianzhuang Township, billed as the “No. 1 Dark Tea Village Under Heaven.” Its…