The 'gentleman' of Chinese teas

Cooling. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Partly because of the area's early prosperity, Qianlong visited the region six times in his reign of 61 years, and is said to have watched tea making on four visits. He wrote poems about tea making and tea drinking, and designated 18 tea shrubs in front of Hugong Temple as "imperial tea". Longjing then became a tribute to emperors. It has also been given to foreign leaders as a state gift.