Instead, take the half-day trip to Longjing, a village in Hangzhou, and watch the experts make the rarest Chinese tea - Longjing Tea.

Longjing, which means "dragon's well," is said to get its name because Qian Long, the renowned Emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), once washed his face using the water in a well here. At the time, the Chinese referred to their emperor as "dragon," the most sacred and imaginative animal in China. Tea leaves are stirred in a pan of about 80 degrees Centigrade with bare hands.

As teas go, Longjing is one rare kind.

There are actually four types: Zhejiang Longjing, Xihu Longjing, Meiwu Longjing and Shifeng Longjing.

Other provinces in East China, such as Jiangxi and Jiangsu, also yield some Longjing Tea, but no one surpasses Hangzhou.

Longjing Village is especially famous for its Shifeng Longjing. Every family in the village has some land with tea plants on the Shifeng Mountain, and generations of the villagers are involved in making tea by disbudding leaves and stirring them in big pans.

A 20-minute taxi ride takes you from downtown Hangzhou to Longjing on a narrow road flanked by lots of tall trees that look emerald green after dusted by a spring rain.

Soon, though, those tall trees by the road are replaced by rows of short plants - tea trees.

Yellow straw hats move among the plants. Farmers are stooped to pick the tender leaves.

The spring tea-picking season, which usually lasts a month, is almost over now.

The farmers here are happy to teach how the leaves are chosen and how to pick them - if guests promise to put the leaves to their baskets.

Two leaves with buds in the middle are the best. And the smaller the leaves are, the better the tea will be.

Rumor has it that only virgins were permitted to pick the leaves because special fragrances from their bodies would add flavor to tea. The Chinese cherish virginity for its purity.

An experienced farmer can pick nearly 1 kg per day, starting from 6:00am and finishing at dusk.

That is not an easy job. All that stooping makes the neck and waist rigid and achy. It's unrewarding, too, since the leaves aren't fragrant until they are stirred in a pan.

Once you arrive in Longjing Village, you'll see many flags with "tea" written on them. Villagers sit at the door of their houses and stir tea in big pans. Here, the delightful aroma of tea will envelope and invigorate you.

The houses have big doors so the wind can enter easily, aired out and dry the leaves. They can't dry in the sun or the leaves will become red and lose their good flavor and appearance.

Only after stirring three times can the real Longjing Tea can be produced.

The first time, called shaqing, is to dry the leaves and excise water inside them.

The villagers have to stir the leaves in the pan of about 80 degrees Centigrade by their hands. Thus, skills and speed are the most essential factors, taking the tea up, shaking for a while and putting them into the pan again, which are the basic methods and should be repeated for many times in the 10-plus minutes.

The second-time stirring is called shaping.

Different from other kinds of tea, Longjing is known for its flat, straight shape. So, in the shaping process, the leaves are placed in the pan very quickly.

Many years of doing the job, their hands are rough and full of scars that have been scalded by pans.

Then the leaves are placed in a device that screens them to their essence. The goal is to make all the leaves the same size and to separate out the larger leaves for processing during the summer.

The remaining leaves are stirred a third time to make sure that all the water has dried. And they should be put into a box with some bags with chemicals that absorb leftover water. After three days there, it is ready for use.

Along the road to the Shifeng Mountain, lots of families have small shops for visitors to enjoy tea and introduce their products at the same time. They charge about 200 yuan (US$24) per kg.

Don't buy any on impulse unless you have an expert with you, because some villagers also sell fake Longjing tea.

The 18 tea plants appointed by Emperor Qian Long to be the best one on the Shifeng Mountain is one place to go. Villagers say the higher the tea plants are, the better leaves they can yield, because they can receive the best sunlight.

With much fewer tourists compared with West Lake, the village offers tranquility, lush greenery and fresh air.

(Shanghai Star 04/26/2001)