Gaoxiang Organic Tea Plantations in Eshan County, Yuxi
Chinese Name: 峨山县高香万亩生态茶文化园(云茶山庄)
English Name: Gaoxiang Organic Tea Plantations in Eshan County, Yuxi
Eshan Gaoxiang Ten-Thousand-Mu Ecological Tea Culture Garden
The Eshan Gaoxiang Ten-Thousand-Mu Ecological Tea Culture Garden preserves its original natural environment, featuring lush peaks, dense forests, towering ancient trees, and continuous streams. The tea garden and forest scenery complement each other beautifully, with the expansive tea garden resembling a jade belt winding through the mountains. The garden exhibits a stylized design with a “hat” (forest) at the top, a “belt” (tea garden) in the middle, and a “skirt” (grassland) at the bottom. Key attractions include the vast tea garden, Rhododendron Mountain, sea of clouds sunrise, Butterfly Valley, Waming Valley, and the High Fragrance Thirteen Guardians. It is the closest and largest ecological tea culture tourism area to the provincial capital, Kunming, integrating tea planting, sales, research, and tourism.
In spring, the tea mountains are filled with the aroma of fresh buds, attracting many visitors; the tea’s international success has earned widespread acclaim. Entering the Yuxi Gaoxiang Ten-Thousand-Mu Ecological Tea Culture Tourism Area, you are greeted by nature’s grand paintings of green mountains, mist, and tea gardens, resembling a paradise on earth. Amidst the heavenly sounds and the enveloping tea fragrance, you are met with rolling green waves, creating an immersive experience where the environment and tea blend seamlessly.
As the saying goes, “Good tea comes from high mountains and mist,” and Eshan is a prime example. With an altitude of 1,900 to 2,300 meters, it belongs to the Ailao Mountain range. The garden was constructed following ecological principles, utilizing natural conditions in a highly scientific and perfect manner, making it unique among tea gardens. On the tea mountain, you’ll often see Yi ethnic girls in traditional dress carrying bamboo baskets, skillfully picking tea leaves. The sight of these baskets filling up with fresh tea leaves adds to the beauty of the landscape. Tea picking is both labor and joy, with the sound of cheerful laughter ringing out as the baskets fill. Visitors can also don straw hats and experience picking fresh tea leaves, feeling the intimate connection between people and nature. Once you’ve collected a good amount, you can try your hand at tea processing under the guidance of technicians, enjoying the pleasure of “picking the fragrance from the bud and savoring its diverse qualities in the cup.”
Yuntea Mountain Villa (Yuncha Shanzhuang)
Yuntea Mountain Villa is located in Eshan Yi Autonomous County, Yuxi City, adjacent to the Gaolushan County-level Nature Reserve. Surrounded by forests with a coverage rate of up to 95%, the area is enveloped in mist and abundant rainfall throughout the year, creating a natural forest oxygen bar rich in negative oxygen ions. The hotel is nestled among verdant hills and ancient trees, with the forest landscape and pristine tea gardens forming a unique and picturesque setting.
Developed and operated by Yuntea Group, Yuntea Mountain Villa is situated on Jinyin Mountain in Eshan County, Yuxi City, covering a total area of 2,256 acres. The average annual temperature is 16°C, with annual sunshine ranging from 2,100 to 2,300 hours. The region features beautiful scenery and a warm, humid climate, with a high concentration of negative oxygen ions in the pristine natural environment and forest coverage exceeding 95%.
The forest area contains vast tea gardens, rolling and lush, with exotic flowers, unique grasses, babbling streams, and the sounds of birds and insects. Yuntea Mountain Villa is located amidst this tea garden landscape. It is only 27 kilometers from Eshan County and about a 2.5-hour drive from Kunming, making it the closest and most ecological Pu’er tea mountain to Kunming. It is also one of the most tranquil, nature-integrated places where one can hear their own heartbeat.
The company utilizes high-quality resources such as ecological tea gardens and native forest lands to integrate and shape projects centered around renowned tea products and tea culture, focusing on ecological tourism, conference vacations, and forest economy. The aim is to build a “healthy lifestyle destination” combining organic high-end tea culture with mountainous ecological tourism. The project features a unique and picturesque landscape with “one axis, two gardens, two areas, and three views”:
- One Axis: Ecological tea production.
- Two Gardens: Ecological tea planting garden and tea culture experience garden.
- Two Areas: Hotel conference area and high-end resort area.
- Three Views: View of the tea garden cloud sea, view of the thousand mountains in blue, and view of the forested valleys.
The main planning includes areas for hotel meetings, high-end wellness, ecological tea gardens, tea culture gardens, and forest secrets, creating a diversified operational environment, enriching the product system, and establishing a green ecological mountain villa.
Yuntea Mountain Villa is now complete with 12 independent courtyard-style guest rooms in the Long Corridor Hotel and 10 family-style guest rooms in the Camellia Courtyard, all built overlooking the tea gardens. The facilities are fully equipped, including a buffet restaurant, private dining rooms, tea tasting rooms, a calligraphy and painting room, conference rooms, and a reception center. Yuntea Mountain Villa will become a new highlight for Yuxi City and even Yunnan Province.
The villa is constantly shrouded in mist, with abundant rainfall and fertile soil, providing optimal growth conditions for organic ecological tea. The tea leaves here are thick, with prominent buds and a tender sheen. Classic products like “High Fragrance Silver Needle” and “High Fragrance Pu’er” have won gold medals in the China Famous Tea Awards and represent distinguished Yunnan tea. Yuntea Mountain Villa’s tea has gained a strong reputation across Yuxi and Yunnan Province. The villa now has a modern tea factory with an annual production capacity of 30-40 tons. In the future, Yuntea Mountain Villa will integrate surrounding tea garden resources, build a tea brand, and establish a top domestic tea culture education and training base, introducing a complete tea-related industry chain. This will support the long-term development of the ecological tea garden and set new trends in Yunnan tourism.
