Tea Farm

We traveled to a tea farm and learned about the various types of tea grown locally. Some of these types include green, black, Ginsing, yellow and Olong tea. Each person was given a sample and had the option of purchasing any of the tea after the lecture about the health benefits of tea. It was very interesting because I drink a lot of tea and I was able to find out more information kinds that I had never discovered. In China, it is popular to become a "tea master" and give lessons to tourists about tea. Our guide had been studying for six years and finally became a tea master because he wanted to know everything about the crop. I would definately recommend that if one enjoys drinking tea, he or she should visit the tea farm and learn about new types that exist.

Longji Village

While in Guilin, our group stayed overnight in the Longji Village. We drove for about an hour through the mountains until we reached the top where the villagers live. The building that we stayed in resembled a log cabin and the family lived off of bare essentials. We ate "Chinese Hot Pot" for every meal which consisted of meat and vegetables cooked in a pot over a fire. After dinner, the local villagers came to our cabin and did a traditional dance for us. They sang and danced for a few hours and even invited us to join in! It was very fun to learn the steps and move around the cabin with the locals. That night, we huddled together in one bed for heat because the temperature was negative 10 degrees! Most of us never actually fell asleep because we were so cold. The next morning, we took a hike through the mountains and the view was breath taking. Strangely, it got up to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit by noon. Traveling to the village was definitely one of the most interesting and amazing experiences.