A Trip To The Zhu Ye Qing Museum and Gardens

About a week or so ago, one of my students mentioned about a tea museum in Emei City. They were not sure exactly where it was so thought I would find out. My Freshman Writing Class #2 had a local Emei City student studying at Jiaoda so thought I would ask her.

As the students were working on an assignment, I asked Cecilia about the tea museum and she immediately volunteered to take me there. Two other students excitedly volunteered to go with us: Mr. Taunis and Ms. Giselle. We decided to meet at around 10 AM on Saturday (March 7) to catch a bus to Emei City and then take a taxi to the museum. All of us seemed to be greatly excited about the prospects of visiting the museum. Could it be that the Mists of Emei had been causing us some depression? For me this was most definitely true.

Saturday morning I got a call from Sunee concerning her return tickets. Seems we purchased a return economy instead of the expected business seat as we were led to believe. This little oversight meant that she could not get an earlier flight home and had to wait until Sunday. She was upset and wanted me to get someone to call the travel agency. I told Sunee I was going to see some students at 10 AM and I would take care of it.

Since Giselle, Taunis and Cecilia were more than capable of helping me get to the bottom of this "mistake," we all decided to go to the travel agency first. It was only a few meters from the bus stop.

The travel agency had some minor remodeling done and I almost did not recognize it. Between me and the three students we explained the situation to the agent. She did not perform impressively and it took about a half hour or more to finally come up with the answer - the return ticket was indeed an economy ticket. The question thus was why were we charged so much money for a business travel and an economy return. The agent, only an employee, could not help us so I said we would see her again on the 15th when Sunee got back. Taunis was convinced that we had been cheated. We shall see!

The Zhu Ye Qing Tea Museum and Garden

After getting frustrated by the ticket agency, we caught a taxi to the gardens.


The taxi to the museum was 7 Yuan and there seemed to be quite a number of tour buses parked outside. The welcoming sign was in both Chinese and English and gave a decent description of the place.

My three student guides anxious to get started as they pose for the opening photographs for this blog.

Hey look, Mr. Taunis yelled at us, this is the way to the museum. Was he reading the Chinese or the English?

This is the obvious Zhuyeqing rock as the brand name was prominently displayed on it. Zhuyeqing is both the name of the tea and a registered trademark of this big tea company. Makes for some confusion, especially for the none locals. Cecilia explained the situation to me very easily. Zhuyeqing Company charges five times more for their tea than does the local vendors for the same tea. I understood that fairly quick!

On the way to the museum, there was a row of bronze statues on both sides of the walk. I liked this teapicker so thought I would share her with you.


I also like the Sichuan-style tea server. I had heard about these guys so was hoping to see one in action today.



The entrance to the museum was obvious so we went up to check it out. The cost to get in was 5 Yuan so I bought our tickets. We all received a little cup of Zhuyeqing to try.

This is the ticket to the museum. Always a nice souvenir in China.

As we walked in, the ladies at the entrance told us we were just in time to see the tea demonstration so we hurried to the auditorium to watch. Of course, it was a Chinese Tea Ceremony.


It was ok but way to short. In fact, the whole thing did not even take fifteen minutes. It was a big disappointment plus I had seen better demos up close and personal.


As we walked out and followed the small crowd of visitors, we came to a large room with antique furniture. Must be a typical Chinese tea sitting room. So Taunis and Giselle sat and posed as appropriate on the chairs.

Around the room on the tables were tea stuff. Most of it had cracks or broken pieces. This teapot was very large and probably pretty useless because of its size.


Since we were in a tea sitting room, I figured I might as well sit for a photo as well.

Don't forget me! Don't forget me! Cecilia yelled as she sat in the sitting chair with her favorite bunny in hand.

The wall was covered with Chinese tea stuff so thought I would snap a picture for the blog. Believe the Chinese characters are for respect and humility or some such thing. For sure the one on the right is "respect."

The Museum

The next part of the building was the tea museum. It was small, nicely laid out but does not compete with the tea museum in Jia Jiang. Most of the stuff was rather drab and uninteresting. Might as well take some pictures since I am here.

I really liked this plaque so I took a picture of it. Believe I will try to find one like it for our Chinese compound in Thailand which we plan to build.

This is a root that grew (or was trimmed) to look like the Chinese character for tea - "cha."


Bet there are lots of teapots in here? Don't bet against it because there were. This weird one looked to be made of bamboo.

Another plaque that would fit well into a Chinese compound located in southern Thailand, don't you think?


This was an interesting display that caught my attention. The large teapot was rather simple but refined and I loved the "cha" that shows on the book next to it.


Bet there are some teacups in this museum. Yep, I was right. This one had some buddhas inside and outside and looked to be very old.

Teapot anyone? Lots of interesting teapots on display.

All the exhibits had a professionally laid out explanation board next to them in both Chinese and English. Throughout the museum, one saw these bilingual information posters. Now that is a good idea for all of us foreigners.


Now here is a weird teapot! As I looked at it, I finally figured out what the thing in the back was - a spoon to scoop out the tea and put it in the pot. Actually, this was really a very attractive pot.


As we walked through the rooms full of museum stuff we came to a room set up for calligraphy. Nicely laid out. Once more Cecilia checks out the seating and even does some calligraphy for the photograph. She, of course, forgot that the brush needs to have ink on it to work.

Moving on we came to an area that was entitled Sichuan Scenes or something like that. I call this photograph - SPOUTS. These are the water spouts that the sichuan tea servers used.

I call this photograph - The Pour Idiot.


Both Giselle and Taunis do a much better rendition of the sichuan tea server.


Here Cecilia and I pose in front of the typical Sichuan tea place for a picture. Notice that Cecilia loaned me one of her pet bunnies to hold in my hand. She always seems to have bunnies whenever we take her picture.


How are you? I am fine and you? Taunis greets his teacher and they pose for a photograph in OLD EMEI CITY.


Nice pose of Giselle and Cecilia. Unfortunately for Cecilia, her bunnies must have been hiding in her pocket.


Looking closely at the display to try to figure out what it is. Right, ladies?

Interesting old BW photograph of a typical street scene in old Emei City.


Path to the Garden

We leave the museum and follow the path that leads to the tea garden.


Weird, over-sized teapots sat along the path on both sides. Most were boring but this guy was different so I snapped his picture.

What is it? What is it? Yelling for me to take a picture, I immediately obliged their frantic yells. Well, "it" was nothing more than a teapot with weird things on its lid.

Zhuyeqing Garden

The garden was very Chinese (who would have thought!) and lovely.

My three guides pose for a picture just as we enter the garden. They are anxious to show me what Chinese gardens are all about.


All "real" Chinese gardens have water be it a pond or a running river. This garden was no exception with a beautifully laid out pond and buildings.

All Chinese gardens have a bridge of some sort. This bridge looked great with the surrounding architectural forms.


Here is another view of the garden with pagoda, pond and the surrounding architecture forms again.


The Tea Plants

The tea plants. The tea plants. Where are the tea plants? Cecilia was anxious and excited to show us the tea plants so she asked one of the attendants. Straight ahead on our left - we can't miss them.

An information sign telling us about the famous Emei Mountain zhuyeqing tea. Of course, the Zhuyeqing Tea Company zhuyeqing tea is by far the best!


Rows upon rows upon rows of tea. Me thinks this is not real as the zhuyeqing tea is supposed to be high up on Emei Mountain. Do you want to bet these are tourist tea plants?


And finally here is a little zhuyeqing waiting to be picked. See the bamboo leaf shape of the young leaf just now coming out.

Jiaogulan Herbal Tea

I spend too much time on the internet researching teas. Ask Sunee. She will tell you the truth.

During one of these "trips on the internet," I came across something call Jiaogulan tea. The Chinese was xiancao or longevity grass. The stuff I found stated that some good examples of this tea were being grown in the mountains of northern Thailand. Great. Here is something I can pursue while in Thailand, knowing that buying quality Thai tea would be forbidden.

At a small organic shop not far from our home, I came across a cute little tin of the Jiaogulan Herbal Tea. It was not cheap - 130 Baht or around $4. At least for Sunee, this was expensive since it only had 50 grams. Hey, I thought the cute little tin was worth the four bucks!

Here is the front cover. Kinda classy looking, don't you think?

The back of the tin gave the information necessary to fix this up for drinking in both Thai and English. Very professionally done.

From this net: http://www.jiaogulan.net

Chinese: xiancao (仙草, literally "immortal grass"; more accurately "herb of immortality")
English: five-leaf ginseng, poor man's ginseng, miracle grass, fairy herb, sweet tea vine, gospel herb

History of Jiaogulan
Chapter II
(from Jiaogulan "China's Immortality Herb" by Michael Blumert)

Traditional Uses

Although jiaogulan grows in many Asian countries, there does not seem to be any early historical documentation in existence other than in China. The earliest information available on jiaogulan dates back to the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), when Zhu Xiao first described the plant and presented a sketch of it in the book Materia Medica for Famine in 1406 A.D.. But he recognized it only as a wild crafted plant used as food or a dietary supplement during famine, rather than as a medicinal herb. Later, about 1578 A.D., the renowned herbalist Li Shi-Zhen also described jiaogulan in detail and with a sketch in his classical book Compendium of Materia Medica. He pointed out that this herb could be used to treat hematuria, edema and pain of the pharynx, heat and edema of the neck, tumors and trauma. This was the earliest record of jiaogulan’s use as a drug, although at this time it was confused with an analogous herb, Wulianmei. However, in the Qing dynasty (1644-1912 A.D.) Wu Qi-Jun in his book, Textual Investigation of Herbal Plants, cited the description and sketch from Zhu Xiao’s book and added more information about its medicinal usage. He also clearly separated jiaogulan from its confusion with Wulianmei. Jiaogulan’s traditional use has not been widespread in China. It was used as a folk herb in the local areas where it grew wild. Jiaogulan grows mostly in the mountainous regions of southern China, far from the central part of China, an area which has long been known as the “ancient domain of China”. This central area of China is where the classical system that we call traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) evolved. For this reason, jiaogulan is not included in the standard pharmacopoeia of the TCM system, and therefore has not had as widespread use as TCM herbs. However, an experienced TCM practitioner in China has analyzed jiaogulan and described its qualities in terms of traditional Chinese medicine, as “sweet, slightly bitter, neutral, warm, enhancing ‘Yin’ and supporting ‘Yang’”, and suggested that “it would be used to increase the resistance to infection and for anti-inflammation.”

Modern Discovery

Jiaogulan has been used by the people in the mountainous regions of Southern China as an energizing agent. They would take it as a tea before work to increase endurance and strength, and after work to relieve fatigue. It has also been taken for general health and has been recognized as a rejuvenating elixir. People also used it for treating common colds and other infectious diseases. Hence, the local Chinese people called jiaogulan, xiancao the “Immortality Herb,” and described it thus: “Like ginseng but better than ginseng.” Another story states that in a village near Fanjing Mountain in Guizhou province, the inhabitants would drink jiaogulan tea instead of the more common green tea and as a result many people there were living to 100 years of age. In 1972 the Research Group of Combined Traditional Chinese-Western Medicine of Qu Jing in Yunnan province did a study on the therapeutic effect of jiaogulan in 537 cases of chronic tracheo-bronchitis. This was the first report of medicinal usage of jiaogulan in modern Chinese medical literature. Jiaogulan has since been included in the more recent Dictionary of Chinese Materia Medica, where it describes the traditional uses for jiaogulan as a medicine. There it is indicated for anti-inflammation, detoxification, cough remedy, as an expectorant and as a chronic bronchitis remedy. Other traditional uses as a medicine have been anecdotally said to be for heart palpitation and for fatigue syndromes. In Japan, jiaogulan is called amachazuru. “Amacha” means “sweet” in Japanese, referring to the sweet component prevalent in the plant, “cha” means tea, and “zuru” means “vine”. The name perfectly describes the jiaogulan plant, which grows as a climbing vine and produces a sweet tea from its leaves. Amachazuru has been recognized in Japan since the late 1970s, and its description and uses are included in the Japanese Colour Encyclopedia of Medicinal Herbs. Among other things, it is stated there: “Because of the sweet taste of the leaves, it has been used as a mountain vegetable”, similar to its use during the Ming Dynasty mentioned previously. Perhaps one of the more significant revelations about jiaogulan came about in Japan in the mid-1970s. Previously unknown as a medicinal herb, jiaogulan’s discovery in Japan came about like many of the world’s great discoveries—partially through the hard labor of a dedicated scientist, and partially by accident. It all started like this: In the 1960s there was a trend amongst some research scientists to find an alternative sweetener to sugar. Although saccharin was in use for many years, they were still pursuing other sugar alternatives. In Japan, the government had prohibited the use of sodium cyclamate, a recently discovered artificial sweetener. Japanese researcher Dr. Masahiro Nagai, presently a professor of Pharmacognosy at Hoshi Pharmaceutical University, recalls:

I had been in the National Institute for Health (NIH) in the U.S. for two years, from 1969 to 1971, when Dr. Osama Tanaka, a professor in the Dept. of Medicine of Hiroshima University, sent a request to me asking that I send a copy of a thesis on Stevia, which had been a subject of research in the NIH. He was interested in the plant for his study as a safe sweetening agent, which is not a sugar. When I went back to Japan, I decided to study the ingredients of another plant, called amachazuru, for possible use as a sugar alternative which, because of my background in Pharmacognosy, I knew to contain a sweet component.

Upon analyzing the sweet component, he stumbled upon the first discovery by the scientific world of chemical compounds contained in amachazuru that are identical to some of the compounds found in Panax ginseng, yet in a completely unrelated plant. He announced his findings at the twenty-third Meeting of the Japanese Society of Pharmacognosy in 1976, at Hiroshima. As it turned out, there was no further investigation of the herb for its sweetness. At that time, another Japanese scientist, Dr. Tsunematsu Takemoto, whose specialty was herb medicine research, was seeking natural treatments for cancer and other ailments arising from stress, as well as a sugar alternative. His interest of study was in a Chinese fruit, botanical name Momordica grosvenori, a melon of the Cucurbitaceae (cucumber or gourd) family, known not only for its sweetness, but also for its medicinal uses. His interest in this fruit had been piqued because of its reputation as the “precious fruit of longevity” and as a popular Chinese medicine. After returning from an unsuccessful trip to Kenya in search of the Momordica fruit, he learned of the research being done with amachazuru, an herb in the same family as the fruit he was studying. According to Professor Nagai, “One year after my presentation of the study at the Pharmacognosy Society (1977-78), Prof. Takemoto and his research group saw my reports on the study of amachazuru, and became very interested in studying it.” Since the compounds in amachazuru were found to be similar to those in Panax ginseng, and because it was growing wild in the fields and mountains, Dr. Takemoto thought that he had possibly found, in an apparently insignificant perennial weed, an inexpensive and readily available health panacea, right in his native country.10 Upon analyzing the amachazuru himself, Dr. Takemoto discovered that it contained four kinds of saponins exactly like those in Panax ginseng and seventeen other kinds of saponins very similar to those in Panax ginseng. Over the next ten years he and his group of researchers identified and named eighty-two saponins from amachazuru, whereas Panax ginseng has been found to have up to 28 saponins. Although these two plants are not related, they contain the same major components: saponins, a substance that has the unique quality of dissolving both in water and oil, and when mixed with water and shaken, will foam up. In Panax ginseng the saponins are called ginsenosides, in jiaogulan, or amachazuru, they are called gypenosides. (See Chapter 5 for a more detailed explanation of saponins) Dr. Takemoto was very excited about this newly discovered herb and he embarked on a mission to gradually uncover all of its potential. Throughout the 1980s, Dr. Takemoto, along with his staff, performed studies which isolated and identified eighty-two saponins, which they simply numbered 1-82. In 1984 they performed three experiments that began to demonstrate amachazuru’s many health-supporting and medicinal qualities. They saw that amachazuru increased the activity and strength of mice in a swimming test, showing the herb’s ability to improve endurance. Another study on mice showed the herb’s effectiveness as a neoplasm or tumor inhibitor,15 and a third showed the herb’s ability (adaptogenic) to prevent the unpleasant side effects of dexamethasone (hormone treatmen).16 These studies used mice as subjects; nevertheless having been tested on mammals, they were a significant marker for the herb’s possible effectiveness on humans. This was borne out by subsequent studies on humans. Jiaogulan would prove, in studies, to enhance endurance, inhibit tumors and help protect the cellular immunity in humans, as well as provide many other health-promoting benefits. Although the Japanese findings were significant, they were only the beginning of the extensive research that would be done on amachazuru. Unfortunately, in 1989 the driving force behind the ground-breaking research, Dr. Takemoto, passed away. As a result, the energy to pursue the research significantly slowed in Japan. However, interest in jiaogulan by Chinese researchers was growing rapidly, sparked by the results of a nationwide population census taken in the 1970s. The census revealed that, in small regions in the south central portion of China (some villages of Guangxi, Shicuan and other southern provinces), high rates of people per capita were living to 100 years of age. Cancer incidence was extremely low among the inhabitants as well. Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Medical Science in Beijing and other institutions began to research these regions and discovered that the people living there were regularly drinking a tea made from the herb jiaogulan. Because of the significant results of the census taken in China during the 1970’s, and then the boom of scientific interest in jiaogulan (amachazuru) in Japan during the 1980s, many research studies on jiaogulan were undertaken in China, and they have been continuing up to the present. Various pharmacological and therapeutic effects of jiaogulan were investigated and proven by tests on animals and human beings. Tonics and recipes made of jiaogulan have been developed and are being used in Chinese medical institutions. Surveys of the resources of jiaogulan in various portions of China have been made and cultivation techniques investigated. Nearly 300 scientific papers on jiaogulan or its saponins have been published in respected journals, and information about the herb has been formally collected and published in the modern Dictionary of Chinese Materia Medica. Jiaogulan has been recognized and accepted by ever-increasing numbers of Chinese people. From the time of the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.), the Emperors of ancient China would send various envoys overseas to search for the “elixir of life”, but their efforts were always fruitless. Perhaps, the “elixir” has been found by descendants of the Emperors, growing in their own homeland!

The leaves were delicately dried and twisted and oh so tiny and light.

A closeup reveals how green the tea is and how tightly each little leaf was twisted. These weigh almost nothing so the 50 gram turns out to be quite a lot.


The finished product. The tea is bitter at first but cannot compare to the Kudingchas that we have been drinking. The bitterness is quick and as one swallows the tea it immediately becomes a syrupy sweet sensation. Weird! The taste is strange and one immediately knows that this is not tea but some kind of Chinese herbal medicine. The taste is not unpleasant but weird keeps coming to mind. Weird it is and weird it will always be.

IMHO, this stuff is medicine and I would have to be a seriously believing Westerner to drink it as such. WIll it make me live longer? Maybe. Would the weirdness each day be worth an extra day or two in my life? Ahhh, that is the question. This stuff is so weird that it would probably mess up my taste buds to where I would not be able to taste all the green tea I must drink over the next year so I can start over with a new batch. PASSSSSSSSS!

Tea In Thailand

Our trip back home to Thailand had little to do with tea. Thai oolong tea, however, is now being sold just about everywhere one looks. I have read several articles about this tea and how it is competing with the best from Taiwan and Fujian. The tea was planted about twenty years or so ago by members of the Fifth Kuomintang Army that moved out of Yunnan when the communists took over China in 1949. I remember visiting them at MaeSaLong a long, long time ago when the road to their mountain top hideout was first opened. I found the people to be less than friendly and the tea to be terrible. It was reported that these people were heavily into opium crops and the Thai army looked the other way. The King of Thailand did some crop swapping and encouraged them to plant tea. That tea is now coming on the market in a big way and some experts compare it favorably with oolong tea elsewhere.

I tried to get Sunee to buy some for me to taste but it was expensive, very expensive. I did talk my sister-in-law out of about 50 grams to try later on when I get the time.

In the meantime, I was forced to make do with Thai iced tea and Thai iced coffee. Wooo is me! Wooo is me! Who does not love Thai iced coffee and Thai iced tea. The coffee especially reminds me of Bryers Coffee Ice Cream back in the States. It was wonderful.
Tom came to visit so we took him to see some of the local temples. Lunch included some Thai ice tea and Thai ice coffee seen here

Unfortunately about a week after we got back to China, we got a call informing us that Sunee's brother-in-law had suddenly passed away. He was only a year or two older than me and this came as a complete shock. Sunee left to go back to Thailand almost immediately! Makes one realize how tenuous life really is.

Puerh Menghai Lang He Chi Tse Beeng Tea 9599

We visited the new Focus Market in downtown Emei City yesterday to buy a few chocolates for Thailand. In addition, Sunee bought her sister a cute little teapot, a little bigger than the one I got. Many things were on sale for the upcoming Chinese New Year. One of the items on sale that caught my attention was a Puerh Cake I had seen each time we had visited the market. It was on sale for less than half price so we bought it to try. As one of the tea bloggers (can't remember who) stated - buy puerh that you like. Here is my take on this puerh.

This is the cake we bought. This particular cake cost 56 Yuan or 58 Yuan depending on where you buy it in the local department stores. We bought this cake for 28 Yuan which is about half the normal price. We thought we would give it a try.

I am totally clueless about Puerh Tea. I do not understand what I am reading when I do research on the internet. I have only bought a few interesting cakes and I do like them very much. I will only buy puerh that I like per the blogger expert's advice.


What are we looking for in a good puerh? I don't have a clue. The cake we bought last time in Chengdu had a bunch of silver leaves. In fact, it was almost entirely light colored leaves throughout. Believe that is what is known as "tippy." It means the tea leaves are new and young. As you can see from the this picture and the following one, this cake has almost no "tippy" to it. They are all dark.

I understand that the leaves are oxidized then steamed and then pressed together to make the cakes. The process differs depending on what the final outcome of the tea is meant to be. What is the final outcome of this tea? Clueless!

The only thing that counts is the end product or the tea that one plans on drinking. The end product in this case made us go back and get three more of these cakes while they were still on sale and before we go to Thailand. Had some more of this puerh when we got back from buying the three cakes. It is good and that, so all the puerh people will tell you, is all that matters.