Great Tea Road Retracing

Hannah Carter, an American working in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, is a tea fan who grew up drinking a variety of teas since childhood. In the autumn and winter of 2024, she retraced the Great Tea Road of China, exploring the stories and legends about Chinese tea culture.

Episode1

Great Tea Road Retracing·Authenticity

As many tea fans know, tea originated in China, and was transported along the Great Tea Road to the world.

There is a Xiamei village under Wuyi mountain in Fujian province in China, which is the start of the Great Tea Road. Let's go for the stories there.

Episode2

Great Tea Road Retracing·Harmony

Have you read this poem by Turkish poet Hikmet, "in the fragrance of Chinese tea, I found the fragrance of spring?" The poem is speaking about Keemun black tea - "the Queen of black tea".

The second stop of our journey along the Great Tea Road is the hometown of Keemun black tea - Qimen county in Anhui province. With the special fragrance named "Keemun fragrance", Keemun black tea was very popular in Britain in the 19th century.

Episode3

Great Tea Road Retracing·Inclusion

In addition to Xiamei village under Wuyi mountain, there is another start to the Great Tea Road in Yangloudong, Chibi city, Hubei province.

Yangloudong is a small place covering only 0.7 square kilometers in the past, but it holds an abundance of history and culture. Many different tea companies ever came here to transport tea to the Great Tea Road, bringing Chinese tea all around the world.

Episode4

Great Tea Road Retracing·Integrity

The Chang family from Yuci in Jinzhong city which is a trading family in Shanxi province, was the pioneer of the Great Tea Road.

Their mansion is the largest northern-styled private garden in China. In the academy of the Chang family mansion, all the businessmen used to learn Confucianism which is the foundational business principle of the family.

Episode5

Great Tea Road Retracing·Revival

When the Great Tea Road was at its peak, there were many tea trade firms along the ancient road, and the largest one is Dashengkui in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.

Erenhot, north of Hohhot, was once a transit station on the Great Tea Road. Now the port has become an entry and exit node for the "Middle Channel" of the China-Europe freight trains.