Why read this: Longjing tea is a familiar name for many Mandarin-speaking students, but in English the topic asks them to do something harder than simple description. The article tells a clear story about one family farm, while also raising a quieter concern: real Longjing is becoming harder to find. Students get the chance to read about a tradition they may already know in Chinese, and to notice how a writer can argue without saying everything directly.
What to notice: The writer builds her concern through a chain of small pressures, rather than through one strong statement. Ask students to track the words and phrases that suggest something is slipping away: "increasingly being replaced", "harder to recognise", "the supply gap keeps growing", "may not last in this form forever". Notice also how the writer uses Zhenghua's direct quote ("Hands can decipher what machines cannot") as the emotional centre of the piece. The Chinese calendar terms (mingqian, yuqian, Qingming, Guyu) are essential, so encourage students to use the margin glosses rather than skipping them.
Skills practised: Following a writer's argument across several paragraphs is the main reading skill at this level. Students practise reading for stance, not just for facts: they should be able to say in their own words what the writer is worried about, and which details support that worry. Vocabulary work focuses on a small cluster of impermanence and authenticity words (replace, decline, fake, genuine, supply gap, time-honoured) that carry the article's argument. The comprehension questions ask students to interpret a quotation and to combine information from different paragraphs, which is typical B2 work.
Why people still climb the hills for China's most famous green tea
Longjing tea is admired across China, but real Longjing is becoming harder to find. Many visitors now travel to the farms outside Hangzhou to see how it is grown and fired by hand.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
On a green hillsidehillside: The side of a hill — 山坡 outside Hangzhou, in eastern China, Ge Xiaopeng lifts a tiny leaf from its stemstem: The above-ground stalk (technically axis) of a vascular plant, and certain anatomically similar, below-ground organs such as rhizomes, bulbs, tubers, and corms — 茎；柄. His basketbasket: A container made of woven strips used for carrying or storing things. — 篮子；筐 is already full of slim, jadejade: A bright shade of slightly bluish or greyish green, typical of polished jade stones — 翠绿色-green leaves. Xiaopeng grows Longjing tea, which means Dragon Well: the English translation of the Chinese name Longjing — 龙井 in English. Longjing is one of China's most admiredadmired: Regarded with respect, approval, or warm appreciation — 受人敬慕的 green teas, and it has grown for centuries on the hills around West Lake in Zhejiang Province. On this breezybreezy: With a breeze blowing, with a lively wind, pleasantly windy — 微风轻拂的 March day, the new leaves have finally reached 2.5cm, and the spring harvestharvest: the process or period of gathering crops, or the amount of a crop gathered — 收获；收成 can begin.
Longjing has been famous since the 18th century, when the Qianlong Emperor visited Hangzhou and ordered 18 bushes to be reservedreserve: A supply of something available for use when needed; an area of land set aside for a special purpose. — 储备；保护区；预备队 for the imperialimperial: Related to an empire, emperor, or empress — 帝国的；皇家的 court. Today its reputationreputation: The beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. — 名声；声誉 is even stronger, driven by a stricterstrict: Demanding that rules are obeyed; precisely defined and not to be deviated from. — 严格的；严厉的 geographic designation: an official rule that a product must come from a specific area to use its name — 地理标志 and renewedrenew: To make (something) new again; to restore to freshness or original condition — 更新；恢复 interest in traditional Chinese goods. At the same time, real Longjing has become harder to recognise. Fakefake: Not genuine; made to look real in order to deceive. — 假的；伪造的 versions are sold under the same name, and the slow, labour-intensive: needing a lot of human work rather than machines — 劳动密集型 hand-firing: the craft of drying and shaping tea leaves by hand in a hot pan — 手工炒茶 that gives the tea its character is increasinglyincreasingly: To a greater and greater extent; more and more. — 越来越多地；日益 being replaced by machines. For many buyers, the safest way to taste the real thing is to visit the farms.
Timingtiming: The choice, judgement, or control of when something should be done. — 时机；时间选择 matters more than almost anything. Longjing is graded by when the leaves are picked in the traditional Chinese calendarcalendar: Any system by which time is divided into days, weeks, months, and years — 历法, which divides the year into 24 solar term: one of 24 fixed periods in the traditional Chinese calendar marking seasonal change — 节气. The early flushes: the first new shoots and leaves a tea plant produces each season — 头春茶, which open in midmid: Denoting the middle part — 中部的 to late March, are the most prizedprized: Highly valued, cherished — 珍视的；备受推崇的 for their light chestnut aroma: a smell like roasted chestnuts, a prized note in Longjing tea — 栗香 and clean, gentle taste. Tea picked before Qingming: the Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping) solar term, around 4 or 5 April — 清明 (around 4 or 5 April) is called mingqian: tea picked before the Qingming solar term; the most prized Longjing grade — 明前茶, and the slightly later batchesbatch: (by extension) A quantity of anything produced at one operation — 一批 are known as yuqian: tea picked between Qingming and Guyu, a second-tier spring grade — 雨前茶 (before Guyu: the Grain Rain solar term, around 19 or 20 April — 谷雨, around 19 or 20 April). Xiaopeng, a fourth-generation: belonging to the fourth in a line of family members continuing the same trade — 第四代 tea growergrower: A farmer; one who grows things — 种植者；农户, says that just 500g of the earliest mingqian batches can now sell for more than 30,000 yuan (about $4,400). The harvest window: the short period of time during which a crop can be picked at its best — 采摘期 is short, and climate change is making it harder to predict.
After the leaves are picked, they must be fired straight away. Xiaopeng's father, Ge Zhenghua, sweepssweep: To clean a floor or surface with a brush; to move swiftly and smoothly. — 打扫；扫；席卷 fresh leaves through a wok heated to about 200C, scoopingscoop: To lift, move, or collect with a scoop or as though with a scoop — 舀；铲 them up and releasing them again in steadysteady: Firmly fixed, supported, or balanced; regular and continuous. — 稳定的；平稳的, practisedpractised: Skillful, proficient, knowledgeable or expert as a result of practice — 熟练的；老练的 strokesstroke: A sudden serious illness caused by a blocked blood vessel in the brain; a movement of the hand or arm. — 中风；一击；笔画. He wears no gloves. The wok-firing: drying and shaping tea leaves by tossing them in a heated wok — 炒锅杀青, he explains, is what makes Longjing what it is. It stops the leaves from turning brown, presses them into their flat spear shape: the long, flat, pointed form of finished Longjing tea leaves — 扁平剑形, and dries them so that the fragrancefragrance: A pleasant smell or odour — 芳香；香味 is released and the tea can be stored. Many farmers now use machine-firing: drying and shaping tea leaves using machines instead of human hands — 机器炒制 instead, because it saves time during the busy season. Most drinkersdrinker: Agent noun of drink; someone or something that drinks — 饮用者 might not notice a difference, but Zhenghua says he can still taste what is lost. “Hands can decipherdecipher: to find a solution to a problem — 找出（问题的）答案；破解 what machines cannot,” he says. “Machines are dead. These hands are alive.”
Once the firing is finished, Zhenghua weighs each batch and presses on an official stickersticker: An adhesive label or decal — 贴纸；标签. Only tea grown inside a 168 sq km area around West Lake can legally be sold as West Lake Longjing: the protected Longjing grown in a designated 168 sq km area around West Lake, Hangzhou — 西湖龙井. To slow down fakesfake: Something which is not genuine, or is presented fraudulently — 赝品；冒牌货, the authorities now give a limitedlimited: Restricted in size, amount, or extent. — 有限的；受限制的 number of authentication stickers: official labels that prove a product is genuine — 防伪标签 to verifiedverify: to make sure or demonstrate that something is true, accurate, or justified — 核实；验证；证实 farmers, each carrying a QR code. Even so, the supply gap: the shortage between how much of a product is wanted and how much is available — 供应缺口 between what buyers want and what these hills can produce keeps growing. For years Zhenghua worried that his craft might die out, because many young people had left for university and city jobs. Recently, more have returned to learn the family skills, including his own son. Visitors come too, partlypartly: To some extent; not completely. — 部分地；在一定程度上 for the tea and partly to see a time-honoured trade: a craft or occupation respected because it has been practised for many generations — 传统行当 that may not last in this form forever.
On a green hillsidehillside: The side of a hill — 山坡 outside Hangzhou, in eastern China, Ge Xiaopeng lifts a tiny leaf from its stemstem: The above-ground stalk (technically axis) of a vascular plant, and certain anatomically similar, below-ground organs such as rhizomes, bulbs, tubers, and corms — 茎；柄. His basketbasket: A container made of woven strips used for carrying or storing things. — 篮子；筐 is already full of slim, jadejade: A bright shade of slightly bluish or greyish green, typical of polished jade stones — 翠绿色-green leaves. Xiaopeng grows Longjing tea, which means Dragon Well: the English translation of the Chinese name Longjing — 龙井 in English. Longjing is one of China's most admiredadmired: Regarded with respect, approval, or warm appreciation — 受人敬慕的 green teas, and it has grown for centuries on the hills around West Lake in Zhejiang Province. On this breezybreezy: With a breeze blowing, with a lively wind, pleasantly windy — 微风轻拂的 March day, the new leaves have finally reached 2.5cm, and the spring harvestharvest: the process or period of gathering crops, or the amount of a crop gathered — 收获；收成 can begin.
Longjing has been famous since the 18th century, when the Qianlong Emperor visited Hangzhou and ordered 18 bushes to be reservedreserve: A supply of something available for use when needed; an area of land set aside for a special purpose. — 储备；保护区；预备队 for the imperialimperial: Related to an empire, emperor, or empress — 帝国的；皇家的 court. Today its reputationreputation: The beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. — 名声；声誉 is even stronger, driven by a stricterstrict: Demanding that rules are obeyed; precisely defined and not to be deviated from. — 严格的；严厉的 geographic designation: an official rule that a product must come from a specific area to use its name — 地理标志 and renewedrenew: To make (something) new again; to restore to freshness or original condition — 更新；恢复 interest in traditional Chinese goods. At the same time, real Longjing has become harder to recognise. Fakefake: Not genuine; made to look real in order to deceive. — 假的；伪造的 versions are sold under the same name, and the slow, labour-intensive: needing a lot of human work rather than machines — 劳动密集型 hand-firing: the craft of drying and shaping tea leaves by hand in a hot pan — 手工炒茶 that gives the tea its character is increasinglyincreasingly: To a greater and greater extent; more and more. — 越来越多地；日益 being replaced by machines. For many buyers, the safest way to taste the real thing is to visit the farms.
Timingtiming: The choice, judgement, or control of when something should be done. — 时机；时间选择 matters more than almost anything. Longjing is graded by when the leaves are picked in the traditional Chinese calendarcalendar: Any system by which time is divided into days, weeks, months, and years — 历法, which divides the year into 24 solar term: one of 24 fixed periods in the traditional Chinese calendar marking seasonal change — 节气. The early flushes: the first new shoots and leaves a tea plant produces each season — 头春茶, which open in midmid: Denoting the middle part — 中部的 to late March, are the most prizedprized: Highly valued, cherished — 珍视的；备受推崇的 for their light chestnut aroma: a smell like roasted chestnuts, a prized note in Longjing tea — 栗香 and clean, gentle taste. Tea picked before Qingming: the Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping) solar term, around 4 or 5 April — 清明 (around 4 or 5 April) is called mingqian: tea picked before the Qingming solar term; the most prized Longjing grade — 明前茶, and the slightly later batchesbatch: (by extension) A quantity of anything produced at one operation — 一批 are known as yuqian: tea picked between Qingming and Guyu, a second-tier spring grade — 雨前茶 (before Guyu: the Grain Rain solar term, around 19 or 20 April — 谷雨, around 19 or 20 April). Xiaopeng, a fourth-generation: belonging to the fourth in a line of family members continuing the same trade — 第四代 tea growergrower: A farmer; one who grows things — 种植者；农户, says that just 500g of the earliest mingqian batches can now sell for more than 30,000 yuan (about $4,400). The harvest window: the short period of time during which a crop can be picked at its best — 采摘期 is short, and climate change is making it harder to predict.
After the leaves are picked, they must be fired straight away. Xiaopeng's father, Ge Zhenghua, sweepssweep: To clean a floor or surface with a brush; to move swiftly and smoothly. — 打扫；扫；席卷 fresh leaves through a wok heated to about 200C, scoopingscoop: To lift, move, or collect with a scoop or as though with a scoop — 舀；铲 them up and releasing them again in steadysteady: Firmly fixed, supported, or balanced; regular and continuous. — 稳定的；平稳的, practisedpractised: Skillful, proficient, knowledgeable or expert as a result of practice — 熟练的；老练的 strokesstroke: A sudden serious illness caused by a blocked blood vessel in the brain; a movement of the hand or arm. — 中风；一击；笔画. He wears no gloves. The wok-firing: drying and shaping tea leaves by tossing them in a heated wok — 炒锅杀青, he explains, is what makes Longjing what it is. It stops the leaves from turning brown, presses them into their flat spear shape: the long, flat, pointed form of finished Longjing tea leaves — 扁平剑形, and dries them so that the fragrancefragrance: A pleasant smell or odour — 芳香；香味 is released and the tea can be stored. Many farmers now use machine-firing: drying and shaping tea leaves using machines instead of human hands — 机器炒制 instead, because it saves time during the busy season. Most drinkersdrinker: Agent noun of drink; someone or something that drinks — 饮用者 might not notice a difference, but Zhenghua says he can still taste what is lost. “Hands can decipherdecipher: to find a solution to a problem — 找出（问题的）答案；破解 what machines cannot,” he says. “Machines are dead. These hands are alive.”
Once the firing is finished, Zhenghua weighs each batch and presses on an official stickersticker: An adhesive label or decal — 贴纸；标签. Only tea grown inside a 168 sq km area around West Lake can legally be sold as West Lake Longjing: the protected Longjing grown in a designated 168 sq km area around West Lake, Hangzhou — 西湖龙井. To slow down fakesfake: Something which is not genuine, or is presented fraudulently — 赝品；冒牌货, the authorities now give a limitedlimited: Restricted in size, amount, or extent. — 有限的；受限制的 number of authentication stickers: official labels that prove a product is genuine — 防伪标签 to verifiedverify: to make sure or demonstrate that something is true, accurate, or justified — 核实；验证；证实 farmers, each carrying a QR code. Even so, the supply gap: the shortage between how much of a product is wanted and how much is available — 供应缺口 between what buyers want and what these hills can produce keeps growing. For years Zhenghua worried that his craft might die out, because many young people had left for university and city jobs. Recently, more have returned to learn the family skills, including his own son. Visitors come too, partlypartly: To some extent; not completely. — 部分地；在一定程度上 for the tea and partly to see a time-honoured trade: a craft or occupation respected because it has been practised for many generations — 传统行当 that may not last in this form forever.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the article, why is the mingqian grade so valuable?
- 02
What does Ge Zhenghua mean when he says, "Hands can decipher what machines cannot"?
- 03
Which sentence best describes the article's overall concern?
- 04
How does the article show that Longjing is becoming harder to produce in the traditional way? Use at least two specific examples from the text.
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
How does Ge Zhenghua try to protect the future of his craft? Do you think his efforts will be enough? Give reasons from the article.
Suggested length: ~80 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the article, why is the mingqian grade so valuable?
- 02
What does Ge Zhenghua mean when he says, "Hands can decipher what machines cannot"?
- 03
Which sentence best describes the article's overall concern?
- 04
How does the article show that Longjing is becoming harder to produce in the traditional way? Use at least two specific examples from the text.
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
How does Ge Zhenghua try to protect the future of his craft? Do you think his efforts will be enough? Give reasons from the article.
Suggested length: ~80 words