The lush, green scenery around this tea village up in the hills southwest of West Lake makes for a wonderful break from the bustle of Hangzhou. Visitors can wander through the village and up into the tea plantations themselves. During the spring, which is the best time to visit, straw-hatted workers can be seen picking the tea leaves by hand in the fields, and baskets of the fresh leaves are left out to dry in the sun back in the village.
Stop into any of the casual restaurants and teahouses to taste the lóngjǐng (dragon well) tea itself, which is renowned throughout China. It's expensive but has a fine, distinctive flavour.
Well-signposted walking trails lead off from the village into the surrounding hills.
To get to the tourist area, take local bus 27 (¥2, 25 minutes, frequent) from anywhere along the northern shore of West Lake and get off at the Lóngjǐngcháshì (龙井茶室) stop. Last buses at 8pm. A taxi costs about ¥25.
Bus 87 usefully connects most of the sites in the tea plantation area.
