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 hillside outside Hangzhou, in eastern China, Ge Xiaopeng lifts a tiny leaf from its stem. His basket is already full of slim, jade-green leaves. Xiaopeng grows Longjing tea, which means in English. Longjing is one of China's most admired green teas, and it has grown for centuries on the hills around West Lake in Zhejiang Province. On this breezy March day, the new leaves have finally reached 2.5cm, and the spring harvest can begin.
Longjing has been famous since the 18th century, when the Qianlong Emperor visited Hangzhou and ordered 18 bushes to be reserved for the imperial court. Today its reputation is even stronger, driven by a stricter and renewed interest in traditional Chinese goods. At the same time, real Longjing has become harder to recognise. Fake versions are sold under the same name, and the slow, that gives the tea its character is increasingly being replaced by machines. For many buyers, the safest way to taste the real thing is to visit the farms.
Timing matters more than almost anything. Longjing is graded by when the leaves are picked in the traditional Chinese calendar, which divides the year into 24 . The , which open in mid to late March, are the most prized for their light and clean, gentle taste. Tea picked before (around 4 or 5 April) is called , and the slightly later batches are known as (before , around 19 or 20 April). Xiaopeng, a tea grower, says that just 500g of the earliest mingqian batches can now sell for more than 30,000 yuan (about $4,400). The 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, sweeps fresh leaves through a wok heated to about 200C, scooping them up and releasing them again in steady, practised strokes. He wears no gloves. The , he explains, is what makes Longjing what it is. It stops the leaves from turning brown, presses them into their flat , and dries them so that the fragrance is released and the tea can be stored. Many farmers now use instead, because it saves time during the busy season. Most drinkers might not notice a difference, but Zhenghua says he can still taste what is lost. “Hands can decipher 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 sticker. Only tea grown inside a 168 sq km area around West Lake can legally be sold as . To slow down fakes, the authorities now give a limited number of to verified farmers, each carrying a QR code. Even so, the 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, partly for the tea and partly to see a that may not last in this form forever.
On a green hillside outside Hangzhou, in eastern China, Ge Xiaopeng lifts a tiny leaf from its stem. His basket is already full of slim, jade-green leaves. Xiaopeng grows Longjing tea, which means in English. Longjing is one of China's most admired green teas, and it has grown for centuries on the hills around West Lake in Zhejiang Province. On this breezy March day, the new leaves have finally reached 2.5cm, and the spring harvest can begin.
Longjing has been famous since the 18th century, when the Qianlong Emperor visited Hangzhou and ordered 18 bushes to be reserved for the imperial court. Today its reputation is even stronger, driven by a stricter and renewed interest in traditional Chinese goods. At the same time, real Longjing has become harder to recognise. Fake versions are sold under the same name, and the slow, that gives the tea its character is increasingly being replaced by machines. For many buyers, the safest way to taste the real thing is to visit the farms.
Timing matters more than almost anything. Longjing is graded by when the leaves are picked in the traditional Chinese calendar, which divides the year into 24 . The , which open in mid to late March, are the most prized for their light and clean, gentle taste. Tea picked before (around 4 or 5 April) is called , and the slightly later batches are known as (before , around 19 or 20 April). Xiaopeng, a tea grower, says that just 500g of the earliest mingqian batches can now sell for more than 30,000 yuan (about $4,400). The 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, sweeps fresh leaves through a wok heated to about 200C, scooping them up and releasing them again in steady, practised strokes. He wears no gloves. The , he explains, is what makes Longjing what it is. It stops the leaves from turning brown, presses them into their flat , and dries them so that the fragrance is released and the tea can be stored. Many farmers now use instead, because it saves time during the busy season. Most drinkers might not notice a difference, but Zhenghua says he can still taste what is lost. “Hands can decipher 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 sticker. Only tea grown inside a 168 sq km area around West Lake can legally be sold as . To slow down fakes, the authorities now give a limited number of to verified farmers, each carrying a QR code. Even so, the 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, partly for the tea and partly to see a 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