Wumuchun Tea Culture Festival in Huaping County, Lijiang
The inaugural Wumuchun Tea Culture Festival(华坪县永兴乡乌木春茶文化节) took place in Yongxing Township, Huaping County, under the theme “Taste the Tea from the Clouds and Mist, Visit the Wumuchun River in Spring, and Admire the Beautiful Countryside Scenery.” The festival was inaugurated in the natural village of Sangushui.
During the opening ceremony, attendees enjoyed a range of exciting cultural performances and participated in interactive quiz sessions with prizes. The festival featured various activities, including the display of agricultural specialty products, the awarding of expert workstations, ancient tree tea auctions, tea-picking competitions, tea tastings, signing ceremonies, tea ordering sessions, and guided tours of tea gardens.
Cultural Programs
Cultural programs highlighted tea culture through unique performances such as lantern dances, tea ceremony demonstrations, and tea product fashion shows. The festival also invited the founder of tea dance to perform the “Rhythm of Tea Dance,” alongside a captivating long teapot juggling act.
Wang Ping, president of the Huaping County Calligraphy and Painting Association, remarked, “Tea is the national drink, and calligraphy and painting are national treasures; the combination of the two complements each other.” He explained that the exhibited calligraphy and painting works primarily focus on tea culture and the construction of beautiful rural areas, emphasizing the festival’s distinctive theme of the “fragrance of tea and ink.”
Culinary Delights
In Sangushui Village, a dedicated food and beverage area was set up, offering famous local dishes such as Yongxing cold noodles, fire-roasted cakes, and beef and lamb soup pots.
Related Culinary Delights Featuring Tea:
- Cold Tea Shoots
As spring awakens the slumbering tea trees, vibrant green leaves and tender shoots emerge. The lightly fragrant buds are blanched in boiling water to remove bitterness, then mixed with homemade pickled vegetables, vinegar, soy sauce, minced garlic, and chopped fresh chili peppers, resulting in a refreshing dish with a balance of sourness and bitterness. - Tea-Scented Chicken
This dish features locally raised black-boned chickens from tea gardens, infused with a distinct tea aroma. When the chicken is stewed, a few fresh Wumuchun tea tips are added, creating a perfect combination of color, fragrance, and flavor. - Tea Tree Mushrooms with Preserved Ribs
Wild tea tree mushrooms, which grow at the base of tea trees and are rich in protein, low in fat, and low in sugar, are stewed with locally cured meat. The flavor is truly indescribable and delightful. - Tea-Scented Clear Soup Fish
The Wumuchun River nurtures a unique fish known as “Wumuchun River Silvery Carp.” When cooking this fish, adding a few slices of Wumuchun green tea as a seasoning creates a fragrant tea-scented clear soup. - Green Tea Pancakes
Oil tea pancakes are a dietary staple in the high-altitude areas of Huaping County. By finely chopping fresh spring tea tips and kneading them into the dough, unique green tea pancakes are created. Surrounding a fire, a clay pot of oil tea is brewed, achieving a perfect fusion of fresh tea and tea products.
