Lanyang Tea Region
Yilan grows its tea low — Yulan at around 150 m, Dongshan under 500. Low does not mean lesser: the rain and humidity here make a tender leaf and a delicate, high-toned aroma. An hour from Taipei through the Xueshan tunnel.
Itineraries2
- A day in the Yulan tea districtDay tripSongluo village in Datong → the Yulan gardens facing the Lanyang river valley → tasting at a tea house → the Songluo trail → backThe gardens sit on the slope and the watershed, looking straight out over the open valley of the Lanyang. One of the few places in Taiwan where you drink tea with a whole river in front of you.
- Dongshan and Zhongshan by bicycleDay tripThe Zhongshan leisure farming area → the Suxin tea gardens → freshly picked leaves fried into crisps → making green tea mooncakes → tea-smoked eggs → Wulaokeng → the orchards at DajinThe fried tea leaf is picked, battered and dropped in oil — a Dongshan thing, and not something you meet in other tea districts.
Sights and trails
The gardens run along the slope with the Lanyang’s braided bed below. The district describes itself as “three lives in one” — production, living and ecology sharing the same ground.
The stretch where the stream comes out of the hills; you can get into the water in summer. Yilan’s green expo is held here.
Pomelo, white pomelo and pear all grow here. Tea and pomelo share the ground, and around the Mid-Autumn festival you can take both home at once.
Things you can do yourself
A regular of the Zhongshan farming area and good with children. There is a related method on the recipes page.
Pick it, batter it, fry it yourself. You are eating the leaf, not the liquor — the most direct way there is to understand what a tea leaf actually is.