Spring Tea is in season.

Visiting a guest in the mountains far, sharing spring water to Brew tea.
Sitting under the forest together, we cherish the youth that fades.
—from Tang Dynasty poet Dai Shulun's “Spring Visit to a Mountain Hermit”

Green mountains and clear waters produce fine tea. As one of the five leading agricultural industries in Hanbin District, Ankang City, the tea industry has recently focused on ecological tea mountains and promoted integrated tourism and tea development, becoming a distinctive and advantageous local industry.

A cup of Hanbin tea, first taste its “color, fragrance, and flavor,” then savor its “essence, energy, and spirit.”

Before and after Qingming (Tomb Sweeping Day), it is the perfect time for picking tender shoots to make spring tea in Hanbin. At this time, the tea leaves are delicate and fresh, and after a winter of rest, the nutrients accumulate, making the tea's taste, aroma, and flavor superior.

In your leisure time, invite a few friends to stroll through the green hills and pick tea, brew a pot of new tea, and enjoy the clear and bright tea broth, the fragrant aroma, and the refreshing taste. What you smell is not just the scent of tea but the very essence of spring. When a cup of spring tea is savored, one feels as if they have merged with spring itself.

Why does Qingming tea from Hanbin District have such great charm?

Firstly, Qingming tea has endured a winter of dormancy, growing during a period when temperatures are low, requiring no fertilization or pesticides, making it green, safe, and reassuring. Secondly, Qingming tea is more nutritious and has a fresher, more refreshing taste. After a winter of rest and recuperation, the tea plant stores abundant energy. In the spring, when there is a significant temperature difference between day and night, the tea plant receives ample nourishment while consuming little. Qingming tea represents the highest quality and is the best time for picking and processing in the year.

According to ancient beliefs, drinking Qingming tea is beneficial for health and well-being in tune with the seasons. Spring is for liver care, summer for heart care. Spring is the most vital period for human health throughout the year. Paying attention to health during this time, enjoying spring tea and spring vegetables, harmonizes with the upward vitality of spring tea. It aids in renewing the body and spirit, promoting physical and mental comfort and the expression of liver qi.

Where can you find good Qingming tea?

Friends who love spring tea must know about Hanbin District in Ankang City. Located in the heart of the Qin and Ba Mountains, upstream of the Han River, this area is the core of the “Southern Mountain Tea Region” mentioned in The Classic of Tea, one of China's oldest tea regions. Here, the climate is mild, rainfall is abundant, and the environment is beautiful, earning it the reputation of “Selenium Tea Fragrance, Peace and Health Under Heaven.” The topsoil in Hanbin District is rich in organic nutrients and selenium. The main tea-growing areas along the Han River, around Lake Ying, and in the Phoenix Mountains are all located in high-selenium zones, providing excellent growth conditions for tea plants, earning the region the accolade of “China's Selenium Tea Homeland” among tea enthusiasts.

Relying on century-old tea trees and 28 years of arduous work, Hanbin District independently selected and cultivated a new variety called “Shaanxi No. 1.” This variety was granted a “New Plant Variety Rights Certificate” by both the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. In 2025, it was registered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs as the country's ninth tea variety. As the only suitable and excellent tea variety, it has been promoted throughout the province, and in 2025, it was recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs as one of the three major dominant tea varieties in the country.

The tea plants grown in Hanbin's tea areas stand row upon row in the high mountains and along the banks of the Han River, drinking in the clear springs of the mountains, growing luxuriant and robust. Rows of tea plants are lush and green, and fields of buds are full of life. Tea farmers, carrying baskets on their waists, pick the freshest buds amidst the tea plants, creating the beautiful scenery of “busy spring tea picking” against a backdrop of verdant tea gardens.

The hospitable people of Hanbin hope to make more friends who appreciate nature and love tea. If you want to experience the natural scenery of “clouds across the Qinling,” “night rain in the Ba Mountains,” and “clear and graceful Lake Ying,” come to Hanbin and make friends over tea. Hanbin welcomes you!

Shaanxi No. 1 tea, drink often for health and peace!

Authors: Zhou Jun, Wang Shennan