Enjoy both flower viewing and tea picking with cherry blossoms in full bloom and fresh tea leaves turning green
📍Location: Neiyang Village, Pingshan Township, Datian County, Sanming City, Fujian Province (western foothills of the Daiyun Mountain Range)
⏰Best time to visit: Late March to mid-April (high mountain cloud mist tea picking season), late April to early May (rhododendron bloom + terraced fields water mirror period)
🎫Tickets: 65 RMB/person (includes scenic area shuttle bus + tea culture experience hall + viewing platform), free for children under 1.3 meters and seniors over 70; local villagers free with ID
🌿【Why must you come in spring? Three irreplaceable reasons】
✅This is not a patchwork scenic spot of “tea garden + viewing platform,” but a living tea mountain community—tea pickers sing the “Tea Picking Song” as they walk through thousands of acres of terraced fields, tea masters twist fresh leaves in an ancient tea workshop, and even the mountain breeze carries the scent of fresh grass and roasting fire;
✅One of the few “participatory tea mountains” in the country: you can personally pick a basket of spring buds, watch them wither → fixate → twist → dry, and finally hold a cup of tea you named yourself (handwritten label on the tea can, take it home);
✅The scenic area is at an altitude of 1100–1350 meters, with an average spring temperature of 16°C and negative oxygen ions exceeding 28,000/cm³, truly a “natural forest oxygen chamber.”
🚗【How to get there? Three tested recommended ways】
✔ Self-driving (most recommended|about 2.5 hours total)
From Fuzhou: Fuyin Expressway → Quannan Expressway → Datian Interchange → S306 Provincial Road → Pingshan Township → Neiyang Village (five scenic parking spots along the way, search “Daxian Peak Tea Beauty Tourist Center” on your phone navigation)
⚠️Note: The last 12 km mountain road is mostly two-way single lane, daytime travel recommended; the scenic area has an eco parking lot with 4 charging stations.
✔ High-speed rail + shuttle (suitable for those without a car)
Take a high-speed train from Fuzhou Station/Xiamen North Station to Sanming North Station (about 1.5 hours) → transfer to the “Sanming North Station–Datian Bus Station” shuttle (30 minutes, fare 18 RMB) → transfer at Datian Bus Station to the “Datian–Pingshan” rural bus (frequency: 1 per hour, last bus 16:30, fare 6 RMB) → get off at Neiyang Village entrance, walk 300 meters to the tourist center.
✔ Cultural tourism direct bus (spring season only)
Starting March 20, 2024, Datian County Culture and Tourism Bureau, in cooperation with tea enterprises, launches the “Spring Mountain Tea Picking Line,” one trip daily (departure at 8:30), including professional tea guide + tea picking experience + handmade tea cake, reservation required 3 days in advance (WeChat public account “Datian Culture & Tourism” → menu “Reservation Service”).
🌄【One-day spring itinerary|Relaxed · Breathable · Lingering sweetness】
8. 30|Breakfast at “Cloud Tea House” next to the tourist center: freshly steamed dried bamboo shoot buns + high mountain oolong tea eggs, plus a hand-painted tea mountain postcard
9. 30|Take the sightseeing bus to “Cloud Top Viewing Platform” (15-minute ride): overlook thousands of acres of spiral tea mountains, morning mist like silk wrapping the mountain waist, resembling the earth’s fingerprint
10. 30|Immersive tea picking experience (reservation required):
▫️Wear a blue cloth apron, carry a bamboo tea basket, pick one bud and one leaf under the guidance of a tea master;
▫️No rush throughout, focus on recognition: observe leaf vein translucency, smell the fresh aroma of the stem, feel the fuzz on the leaf surface.
12. 00|Watch traditional tea making at the ancient tea workshop: see intangible cultural heritage inheritors roasting with 120-year-old charcoal baskets, listen to the subtle crackling of tea leaves unfolding on bamboo trays
13. 30|Stroll along the “Tea Language Trail” (1.2 km long, suspended wooden walkway): on the left, a century-old yew forest; on the right, mirror-like terraced fields; occasionally spot egrets skimming the water surface
15:00|Tea Beauty Culture Hall handmade session: print tea poem paper, mold tea seed soap, create a personalized tea-scented bookmark (materials included in ticket)
🏡【Where to stay? Mountain residence recommendations】
🔹 “Half-Mountain Cloud Lodge” (5-minute walk from the viewing platform):
▫️Converted from an old tea factory, room window frames are like picture frames facing the entire tea mountain;
▫️Each room comes with a jar of seasonal new tea + handwritten brewing guide;
▫️Evening “Starry Sky Tea Session” available by appointment (limited to 6 people, reservation required).
📌【Helpful tips|Local real experience】
🔸 Clothing: large temperature difference in spring mountain (12°C morning/22°C afternoon), onion-style dressing recommended; non-slip soft-soled shoes essential (some stone steps are slightly wet);
🔸 Respect: do not break tea branches when picking, only pick tender buds; do not touch the roasting basket fire inside the tea workshop;
🔸 Taste: must try “Datian’s Three Delicacies” — red mushroom stewed native chicken, jiaogulan tea drink, tea-scented glutinous rice cake (not fried, fragrant and soft);
🔸 Secret Easter egg: at the west side of the viewing platform “Wangji Pavilion,” tea farmers often place a small basket of freshly picked wild strawberries in the early morning with a note: “Mountain flavor, help yourself, no thanks.”
✨Final words:
Daxian Peak is not high, yet it brews spring into a cup of tea;
Tea Beauty says nothing, but with thousands of terraced fields, tens of thousands of green plants, and a wisp of roasting fragrance,
tells you:
Healing is simply slowing down,
watching how a leaf grows from the mountain breeze into the warmth in your palm.