The Kingdom of Tea – Taiwan
Taiwan is not only a land of typhoons but also known as the land of tea when the tea trade started to boom in the mid-nineteenth century of northern Taiwan. When it comes to tea, you might be thinking of boba, or “tapioca milk tea” and “bubble tea” in other English-speaking countries. This is probably one of the most noted creations of Taiwan other than semiconductor chips, and the sugary, flavored concoction of tea beverages may not be appreciated by the general public given that too much sugar does harm to health.
Culturally speaking, tea drinking should have something to do with teapots, fine tea cups, and boiling water in a Zenist atmosphere of teahouses, if not in a pavilion surrounded by bamboo or forest in a cool breeze.
Tea Drinking as a Lifestyle
Honestly speaking, more and more coffee shops have sprung up in either big cities or touristy towns and villages all over Taiwan. Speaking of tourism, however, there are still more and more visitors coming to Formosa to taste the real flavor of the island’s best-representative beverage since the golden soup has been consumed by our ancestors for at least more than a century.
Nowadays, when it comes to the quality of Taiwan’s tea, people tend to think of the so-called “high mountain tea” from Alishan in the central mountainous region or black tea and similar varieties from the Sun Moon Lake area. You may not know that the tea growing business started in the north and, not far away from downtown Taipei, you will be surrounded by lush green tea bushes in the picturesque landscape of green hills.
Pinglin, a Hometown of Pouchong Tea
Pinglin rural district of New Taipei City used to be an important transportation hub and rest point for travelers from Taipei to Yilan County before 2006 when the longest road tunnel in Taiwan was completed. As one of the prime tea-growing regions on the island, the well-lined tea bushes along the Highway No. 9 have been a great companion for motorists and motorcyclists even today. Unfortunately with the opening of the Xueshan Tunnel into the neighboring Yilan County, many choose to visit the northeastern county to the right of Greater Taipei rather than spend half a day visiting this distinct tea-producing region to the southeast of the Taipei basin.
Pinglin is home to a type of lightly fermented oolong tea, which is known as baozhong tea, or “pouchong” tea in a different romanization method. This type of tea got its unique name due to the paper package once used by the local farmers. This is a type of tea being technically categorized between green tea and oolong tea though most of the time being regarded as part of the latter. Interestingly we don’t find this variety of tea very often while traveling in Taipei regardless of the massive growing area from the southern tip of Taipei City into the eastern and southeastern parts of suburban Taipei.
Bagua Tea Plantation near Feicui Reservoir
You can throw yourself into a lush green paradise right away in less than an hour if you sign up for the half-day tour package Thousand Island Lake & Pinglin Tea Plantation from Taipei offered by Edison Tours, which is based in Taipei City.
A quick escape from the hustle and bustle of the inner city, this tour will completely be immersing you in nature in such a short ride. You’ll probably first visit the Bagua Tea Plantation, overlooking Taiwan’s “thousand island lake”. The name “bagua” not only refers to the name of the teahouse surrounded by its property of tea bushes but also the way the tea bushes are aligned.
This is not specific to this region. You can find many of the tea plantations on the island are sorted in a way looking like the Chinese “eight trigrams” (which is pronounced in Mandarin “bagua”) from a bird’s-eye view. Sipping tea here or simply standing on a lookout circled by tea bushes can find lots of peace and tranquility in your mind.
The mountain ridges stretching into the Feicui Reservoir down the hills are often shrouded by mist, making them look like loads of islands on a massive body of water. The picturesque scenery reminds people of the famous attraction “Thousand Island Lake” in China so the fantastic mountain scene here is nicknamed the “thousand island lake” of Taiwan.
Pinglin Tea Museum
After knowing where the tea bushes are grown, we should continue the tour to see how the tea is made. The tea trade still dominates Pinglin rural district of New Taipei City economically and there’s no better place than Pinglin to learn how tea is made.
Opened in 1997, the Pinglin Tea Museum is a delicately-designed garden house with striking white walls and black tiles. Looking like a traditional Chinese compound house, the mansion-like complex is also beautifully surrounded by classic pavilions and landscaped gardens. The visit should better start with the Discovery Center to browse through the typical tea-making equipment the tea farmers use to make their tea unique. You’ll learn that changes in the tea-making process can lead to producing different types of tea.
Besides, you’ll find some small computers which you can interact with the games of tea-making to get a hands-on experience. Some classic teapots and tea utensils will bring you a sense of the aesthetics of pottery in local tea culture. If you go to the Gallery, which has a ground-level hall and a basement space, you’ll find tea-related exhibitions in an artistic way of presenting tea culture in Taiwan. The theme of the exhibits is subject to change according to the museum.
Pinglin Old Street and Tea Tasting
Right across the river from the Pinglin Tea Museum, you’ll see the main settlement of this tea town. The Pinglin old street is quietly bordered by simple and unadorned teahouses, shops, and grocery stores. This is where you can find a resting place to sample their most famous tea products and chat with the owners of the businesses about the glory days of this outlying tea-producing area.
If you’re not in a rush to leave, there’s a tea culture museum down the street operated by the local farmers’ association to complement your visit to the tea town. It focuses more on the making of tea seed oil and the local ambition to revive the glorious tea-making past.
Visitor Information
Opening hours
The Pinglin Tea Museum and the Pinglin’s Tea Culture Museum down the old street both open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. When visiting the Bagua Teahouse, which is right above some tea bushes overlooking the Feicui Reservoir, you’ll have to know that they don’t open until 9:30 a.m. because some visitors go there really early. You can, however, go to their most popular lookout surrounded by picturesque green hills without buying anything from the business.
Admission
Only the Pinglin Tea Museum charges admission, which is NT$80 for an adult. The Pinglin Tea Culture Museum, which is operated as a small exhibition hall by the Farmers’ Association, is free to visit.
How to get there?
When it comes to transport means to central Pinglin, two public bus services depart the Xindian MRT Station, No. 923 and Green 12; besides, there’s one bus service departing Exit 4 of Dapinglin MRT Station, No. 9028. If you want to visit Thousand Island Lake, which is in a bit remote Shiding District, you’d better sign up for the half-day or full-day tour packages because public transport doesn’t take you there.
Useful Tips While Visiting
Too hot in summer?
The Pinglin District of New Taipei City has an average elevation of about 500 meters above sea level but the abovementioned scenic spots only range between 200 and 300 meters above sea level. When you’re embraced by the lush woodlands in the area with a reservoir nearby, you wouldn’t be possibly bothered by the heat.
Feeling hungry?
Pinglin old street has some snack shops and most of the teahouses on the way offer light refreshments, too. Some of the big tea retailers also sell decent foods and are located along Highway No. 9 near the CPC gas station, which, to some extent, tells us the town used to be a popular rest point on the way to Yilan County.
Extra information
If you choose to sign up for the day trip Pinglin Tea Culture & Elephant Mountain Day Tour from Taipei, you’ll get extra opportunities to visit Shenkeng Old Street, which is famous for stinky tofu, and to go on a worthwhile hike to the Elephant Mountain, which has been a five-starred location to take excellent photos of the iconic landmark of Taipei City – Taipei 101 – especially when it’s celebrating the new year in a firework display.
