The profound cultural heritage of West Lake Longjing Tea

Legend has it that when Emperor Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River, he came to the foot of Shifeng Mountain in Longjing, Hangzhou, and watched the country girls pick tea to show their affection. On this day, Emperor Qianlong saw several country girls picking tea at more than a dozen shady tea tables. He was very happy and learned to pick tea. Just picked one, suddenly the eunuch came to report: "The Queen Mother is ill, please return to Beijing as soon as possible." When Emperor Qianlong heard that the Empress Dowager was ill, he put a handful of tea leaves in a bag and returned to Beijing day and night. In fact, the Queen Mother was not seriously ill because she ate too many delicacies. At that time, she got angry, her eyes were red and swollen, and her stomach was upset. At this time, when I saw the arrival of the prince, I felt a faint fragrance and asked what good things I had brought. The emperor was also surprised. Where does the fragrance come from? He touched it casually. Ah, it turned out to be a handful of tea from Shifeng Mountain in Hangzhou. After a few days, it was dry and the rich aroma came out. The queen mother wants to taste this tea. The maid-in-waiting made tea and sent it to the queen mother. Sure enough, the smell is fragrant. The queen mother took a sip and her eyes felt much more comfortable. After drinking tea, the redness disappeared and her stomach did not swell. The queen mother said happily, "Hangzhou Longjing tea is really a panacea." Emperor Qianlong was so happy to see the Empress Dowager, and immediately ordered the eighteen tea trees in front of Gong Hu Temple under Shifeng Mountain in Longjing, Hangzhou to be named imperial tea, and the new tea was picked every year to pay tribute to the Empress Dowager. Up to now, these eighteen kinds of imperial teas are still preserved in front of Gong Hu Temple in Longjing Village, Hangzhou, and many tourists from Hangzhou come to visit and take photos as a souvenir. After several generations of hard cultivation and continuous improvement by tea farmers, Longjing tea has been increasing in output and quality, and now it has spread to Wan Li, enjoying a world-renowned reputation.