? In the blink of an eye, August comes, and the gorgeous lotus flowers have just entered the end of their brilliant season. No more dazzling flowers, the tea garden owners are about to harvest a piece of fallen roots and bear fruit. The original rural attitude extracts the fragrance of the environment.
?Cangwu just suffered an earthquake and a strong typhoon two days ago, which affected people's hearts. Now the sky here has become more and more transparent and vast, as if it is about to use up the blue accumulated throughout the year. Under such a sky, compared with Anxi, Fujian, the tea garden located among the green mountains and clear waters of Liubao Town may have less of the magnificence and tenderness of Wuyi Mountain, but more of the pastoral tranquility and simplicity of Guidong.
My initial impression of Liubao Town came from a box of old tree tea called "Golden Leaf" given by a friend. The tea was packed in a half-kilogram bag - a simple kraft paper bag with a picture of ancient folk tea customs on it, and in the middle was a tea poem by Zheng Yao, a poet from the Five Dynasties and later Jin Dynasty. Below is its trademark "Chabo Liubaochang" and an address located in Liubao Town, Cangwu County, northern Wuzhou. Its design style all reveals a strong retro flavor. I stared at this strange tea for a long time. Each tea leaf was as big as a baby's hand. For years, I have been drinking only green tea, and only the freshest Yunwu tea from my hometown, Lushan. My friend told me that this was Liubao wild raw tea, with a pure taste and a strong soup flavor. She suggested that I try it. But you can only truly taste it by going to the place of origin. I asked why and she shook her head. This is a question only I can find the answer to.
? I don’t know whether it was because I was fascinated by the wild temperament of Liubao Tea, or because I was attracted by the classical town. After my visit that day, I packed my bags and headed to Liubao the next day. Town, start a tea soup journey with up-close contact with Liubao Tea.
? The organic tea garden of Cangwu Liubao Tea Factory (photo by Huang Liuhuai)
The best means of transportation to visit Liubao Town is by car, as neither planes nor trains pass there. After getting off the train at Wuzhou High-speed Railway Station, we took Huang Lihua’s car from Cangsong Liubao Tea Factory to Liubao Town. After leaving the outskirts of the city, the road winds forward through the mountains like a looper. After passing many rugged peaks, you can finally see covered bridges, archways and spreading tea gardens. Obviously, we were very close to Liubao Town, one of Wuzhou's most amazing attractions, similar to Mengding Mountain in Mingshan County, Sichuan - but this place had no tourists at all. ?
As soon as we got off the bus, we were surrounded by layers of green waves before we could distinguish between east, west, north and south. Tea gardens stretch down the hillside, creating green pictures. Liubao tea has a calming and tranquilizing effect, which coincides with the natural temperament of southern tea gardens. The mountain breeze is filled with the fragrance of camellia. When you bend over to take pictures in the tea garden, the fragrance is even more fragrant and surprising. The camera may be able to capture the natural smile. This seems to be the only mountain gate entrance to Liubao Town. "Six Forts" and "Guanying", just hearing the names can remind people of ancient military fortresses, just like the names of places such as Sanlitun and Wangsiying in Beijing. Unfortunately, there is not even a few words about this in the local Cangwu County Chronicle. records. In addition to referring to buildings used for military defense, such as fortresses, bunkers, and bunkers, "fort" can also be used as place names similar to inns and "pu", such as Shilipu and Majiapu. From Qin Shihuang's Baiyue, to the Zhao brothers' Nanyue Kingdom, to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's Guangxin County, and later Cangwu County, Cangwu County, Rongcheng County, Xiuping County, etc., here has always been the Baiyue ethnic group. The origin of perseverance. The "fort" in Cangwu County may also be used for communication. However, the first, second, fourth and fifth forts were all renamed because they felt that the place names had no personality. Only the third fort (in Cenxi) and the sixth fort. Even the current six fort town still uses the old place names. Historically, these places were rich in tea, but the tea produced in Liubao Town was stronger and more mellow, so it was called "Liubao Tea".
? Cangwu Liubao Tea Factory (Photo by Huang Liuhuai)
? Huang Lihua’s Cangwu Liubao Tea Factory is spread out on Guanyingping on the right side of the main road. This place was originally an old tea factory built in the 1970s, formerly known as Liubao Tea Factory.
Since 2005, the original appearance has been restored and renovated, retaining the old tea factory's customary brick and wood building style of blue bricks and black tiles, without much modification, and it exudes a simple and nostalgic atmosphere everywhere. Walking further, changing direction, passing through a long corridor with thick shade and bright pear blossoms, looking out from the tea pavilion set up on the Guanying Ping, one can see the endless pastoral scenery. Opposite the tea garden, there are scattered farmhouse roofs, and in the distance there are Dagui Mountain, Dayao Mountain, Tongwo Mountain and the winding hills and valleys of Lianjin. The wind passing through the tea gardens and passing over the Liubao River is refreshing and pleasant.
The most distinctive feature of Cangwu Liubao Tea Factory is the organic tea garden under my feet. According to Huang Lihua's introduction, his tea garden has always adhered to natural farming methods and does not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides in the entire process. It is produced on-site at the Liubao Old Tea Factory, such as Eight-year Chen Liubao Tea, Cangsong Liubao Old Tea Woman, etc. Including the Liubao Tea Seedling Cultivation Base with several ridges of plump and beautiful colors at the foot of the mountain, they are all masterpieces of "Cangsong".
Morning fog in Liubao (photo by Huang Liuhuai)
? Before entering the factory gate, I took in the surrounding scenery. I felt the great charm of this old tea factory, its elegance and fun. It has nothing to do with the surrounding natural environment. This old tea factory vividly reflects the changing seasons and is protected by fields and forests that create natural moods.
Various bamboo baskets, gourds and metal tea cans for collecting tea. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, tea storage was very particular. Storing different varieties of tea in the same bamboo basket is called "pinsi". (Photo by Huang Lihua)
Upon entering the tea factory gate, you can immediately see the display cabinet in a corner of the tea tasting room, which contains a collection of historical packaged tea leaves. Ceramic poppies, glass bottles, linen bags, refined metal cans, rattan baskets, aluminum foil bags, bamboo baskets, bamboo tubes, blue and white ceramic jars, gourds, etc., this dazzling tea tasting room is like a place where you can become a tea scholar when you grow up. The treasure box of a professor, a curious and excellent boy, is very interesting. However, the cabinet and method of storing tea leaves are a bit simple, which makes people a little worried about how long these antique-level tea leaves can be kept?
? Huang Lihua is in his early fifties, with a medium build, a square face, a straight nose, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and long, thick black hair. He speaks in an easy-going and cautious manner, and every move he makes gives people a sense of elegance and elegance. The impression of being casual by nature. In the empty light and shadow filled with fragrance, he sat on a high wooden stool next to the pile of treasures, drinking tea and listening to the silent words that reached his ears.
? For half a century, the tea leaves of Liubao Old Tea Factory have been accompanied by the memories of Wuzhou people, as well as the trajectory along the way. At this time, they are passing through the buildings here silently with the light and shadow. Pass the warmth of the old tea factory to travelers like me. The moment you start your tea journey, you can't help but feel a hint of leaf-scented black tenderness in your heart.
There are Liubao tea products available for tasting on site, including Lao Cha Po, six-year-old Chen Liubao tea, and the old tree tea that I have seen before. In addition, there are somatic activities such as tea picking, tea frying, tea kneading and tea banquets.
? I spent a few hours visiting the tea factory production workshop, and then wandering around an old tea garden with century-old tea trees. But there are two other places that tourists should visit in Liubao Town. One is the famous Hekou Pier, located right in the center of the town. When I came to this pier, I found myself in the cracks of the town, and everything around me suddenly became neat and quiet.
This wharf with a glorious history is the starting point of the old tea boat route. Liubao tea was transferred to Fengkai via this waterway on bamboo rafts or small boats, and then sailed to Southeast Asia. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, it has been an important land and water transportation route and a commercial port, and Liubao Town has prospered rapidly because of this. It is said that every time the tea ship is loaded with tea, the locals will dance the deer dance and sing loud folk songs to watch the tea ship go away.
However, after thousands of years of prosperity, the Liubao River has become lighter and shallower over the years, and can no longer bear such heavy transportation. Like the silted Bian River, it has gradually withdrawn from the stage of history; but for The town itself, this kind of calm that has lasted for thousands of years, is still unfazed, but it is worthy of respect.
? The boat quickly crossed out of Hekou, and the waves were rapid and the beach was dangerous to Libu. The Liubao River has a long history and tells the touching story of the old boatmen on the old tea boat route.
The wide banks, rippling water, and dense green forests... set off the beautiful scenery of the mainland. Take a cruise to Hekou Pier and enjoy a leisurely tour of historical sites. It should be a dreamy and nostalgic atmosphere that goes back in time.
Hekou Wharf, Liubao Town, Cangwu County (photo by Huang Liuhuai)
Leaving Hekou Wharf and entering the tea street built along the river, walking on the bluestone path, you can see the simplicity of the tea street. Reveal little by little. It was already evening, and there were not many tourists on the road. A ray of sunset slanted down, reflecting a long orange color on the river in the ancient town. With the bamboo forest as the enclosure, the green scene immersed in tranquility has now transformed into a wisp of nostalgia that I can’t erase. Walking through the long corridor, small teahouses with the style of ancient water towns in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China are lined up on Tea Street. They have blue bricks and green tiles and raised eaves. They are quiet and simple, as if they are telling a beautiful story.
? What impressed me deeply in the tea street was the Liubao tea that was packed in bamboo baskets, gourds, wooden boxes, clay pots, and tin cans. The shopkeeper divided these teas into seven grades, starting from Special grade to grade 6; styles include tea powder, tea buds, tea shells, old tea lady, etc. Each type of tea tastes different, and the taste of each year is different. It looks like a pleasant conservative atmosphere. New Tea Street (photo by Huang Liuhuai)
There are very few tourists on Tea Street, which is a pity! But there is a real atmosphere of life here, so real that sometimes it will make you cry inexplicably. For people living in Guangxi, Wuyi Mountain may be a bit far away, but there may be dark green rural areas within reach not far from home, bringing coolness and fragrance to the mountains and plains in the hot autumn days.