A Journey Through the Tea Mountains

Name: A Journey Through the Tea Mountains
ISBN: 9787542883971

Li HuiShanghai Scientific and Technological Education Publishing House · ChinaApr 2026

3.8

Word count: 73K words
Chapters: 66
ISBN: 9787542883971

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Summary

Tea Mountain Chronicles traces the study of tea through a journey on foot. The author sets out from Zhejiang and travels clockwise through Fujian and Taiwan, Guangdong and Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou, Sichuan and Tibet, Shaanxi and Henan, the two Hubei–Hunan provinces, and Anhui and Jiangsu, finally returning to the "desktop mountain" in his Shanghai home, covering 42 tea mountains across the country. Its value lies not in offering a quick-reference encyclopedia of tea but in placing climate, geography, cultivar, tree age, craft, storage, and brewing method on a single chain of experience to explain why the same leaf can present different aromas, flavors, and bodily sensations. The book also discusses the correspondence between the production methods and health effects of the six major tea categories and traditional medical theory, with a pronounced cultural-interpretive bent. Its reading highlights are the on-the-ground immediacy of "traveling ten thousand miles" and a poetic mode of expression that coexist: it depicts natural scenery as well as the discussions among tea makers and tea friends. It suits slow reading; readers may go region by region along the author's route, or pair a tea at hand for comparative tasting, grounding textual experience in sensory experience.

Editor's review

Tea Mountain Chronicles links tea studies through a journey on foot. The author sets out from Zhejiang and travels clockwise through Fujian and Taiwan, Guangdong and Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou, Sichuan and Tibet, Shaanxi and Henan, the two Hubei–Hunan provinces, and Anhui and Jiangsu, finally returning to the "desktop mountain" in his Shanghai home, covering 42 tea mountains across the country. Its value lies not in offering a quick-reference encyclopedia of tea but in placing climate, geography, cultivar, tree age, craft, storage, and brewing method on a single chain of experience to explain why the same leaf can present different aromas, flavors, and bodily sensations. The book also discusses the correspondence between the production methods and health effects of the six major tea categories and traditional medical theory, with a pronounced cultural-interpretive bent. Its reading highlights are the on-the-ground immediacy of "traveling ten thousand miles" and a poetic mode of expression that coexist: it depicts natural scenery as well as the discussions among tea makers and tea friends. It suits slow reading; readers may go region by region along the author's route, or pair a tea at hand for comparative tasting, grounding textual experience in sensory experience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Chinese tea culture who want a systematic understanding of the six major tea categories
Readers who enjoy travel writing and landscape chronicles and prefer a slow reading pace
Tea industry professionals or tea enthusiasts who want a deeper understanding from the perspectives of origin and craft
Cultural readers interested in the correspondence between tea and health, and traditional medical theory

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking quick lookups of tea parameters and treating the book solely as a reference work
Readers who accept only strict scientific empiricism and are skeptical of traditional medical interpretations
Readers with no interest in tea tasting who want a pure travel guide

Reading tips

Read region by region along the author's route; after finishing each region, review with a map how the tea mountains and tea categories are distributed.
Keep a similar tea at hand and actually taste it when reading sections on craft or brewing, noting differences in aroma and bodily sensation.
Keep an open yet cautious attitude toward the parts on health and medical theory; consult other sources for comparison.
The book is best read slowly, one or two sections a day, treating the travel narrative as extended reading for the tea table.

About the publisher

Shanghai Scientific and Technological Education Publishing House China · Founded in 1986

Shanghai Scientific and Technological Education Publishing House is a professional publisher of science and technology education founded in 1986. It mainly publishes primary and secondary school textbooks, teaching materials, popular science books and academic monographs, and also produces periodicals such as Middle School Science and Technology. Its "Philosopher's Stone Series" is an influential popular science book brand, while the books in the database show a sustained focus on social culture, biography, popular science, social sciences and history. Representative titles include A History of Psychiatry: From the Asylum to Prozac, A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash, Journey Through Infinity: A Cultural History of the Infinite, What Is Health: How the Brain Affects High Blood Pressure, Obesity and Addiction, Mathematical Masters: From Zeno to Poincaré, Prime Obsession, The Great Influenza and A General History of Science and Technology (Third Edition). Its contributors include overseas scholars such as Edward Shorter, Sylvia Nasar and Eli Maor, as well as translators and authors such as Han Jianping, Hu Yingchong, Li Yaming, Wang Ershan and Wang Qian, together shaping a publishing profile that bridges academic work and the general public.

版权信息
作者简介
茶道三字经
序
自序在系统进化中看人类和文明的演变规律
一浙江
浙江·狮峰山
浙江·天台山
浙江·天目山
浙江·雁荡山
浙江·象山
二福建
福建·武夷山
福建·太姥山
福建·戴云山
福建·洞宫山
三台湾
台湾·冻顶山
台湾·北大武山
四广东
广东·凤凰山
广东·圭峰山
五广西
广西·岑王老山
广西·云开山
六贵州
贵州·梵净山
贵州·大娄山
贵州·关索岭
七云南
云南·无量山
云南·点苍山
云南·景迈山
云南·老中山
云南·博南山
云南·丙马力山
八西藏
西藏·贡普山
九四川
四川·岷山
四川·蒙顶山
十陕西
陕西·米仓山
十一河南
河南·神农山
十二湖北
湖北·武当山
十三湖南
湖南·君山
湖南·雪峰山
湖南·武陵山
湖南·阳明山
十四安徽
安徽·黄山
安徽·大别山
十五山东
山东·龙山
十六江苏
江苏·洞庭山
江苏·花果山
江苏·界岭山
十七上海
上海·案上山
后记看见经络
致谢
参考文献

FAQ

Is this book a tea reference work?

No. Its main thread is the author's journey across 42 tea mountains, interwoven with tea-category craft, tasting experience, and cultural reflection; it is closer to a cultural travelogue than a quick-reference manual. If you need quick parameter lookups, use it alongside a reference book.

Are the discussions of health effects in the book credible?

The book interprets the health effects of various teas in correspondence with traditional culture and traditional Chinese medicine meridian theory; this is a discussion from a cultural perspective. Readers may treat it as one thread for understanding the depth of tea culture, but where health issues are involved, professional medical advice should still take precedence.

Can someone with no background in tea studies read it?

Yes. The author begins with origin, cultivar, craft, and tasting experience, and the narrative has a sense of immediacy; readers are not required to master technical terms first. Brewing a cup of tea for comparison while reading actually makes it easier to get into.

Is it suitable for reading in one sitting?

Not really recommended. The book unfolds by region and tea mountain, with information density and landscape description equally weighted, so it suits slow reading region by region. Reading it all at once can blur the differences among production areas; reading in installments helps form a clearer impression.

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About the author

Li Hui Author · Chinese · 1956

Li Hui was born in 1956 in Suixian (now Suizhou), Hubei Province, and graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Fudan University in 1982. A former senior editor in the literary department of People's Daily and a member of the Chinese Writers Association, he is known mainly for biographical literature and cultural essays, with a focus on modern writers and cultural change. His representative works include The Whole Story of the Hu Feng Clique Case, A Biography of Xiao Qian, Shen Congwen and Ding Ling, Watching the Clouds Through the Vicissitudes, and Covering China, and he has edited several series of biographical books. The library holds 26 of his works, spanning medicine, artificial intelligence, essays, culture, industrial technology and management. These range from interdisciplinary titles such as Modern Epidemiology and Its Application in China and Dialogues on Artificial Intelligence and Law 2 to cultural travel writings such as It Is a Pity That Huizhou Is Gone from Now On and Records of Tea Mountain, as well as specialized subjects including children's sleep, satellite communications and simulation of additive manufacturing. His cultural writing is grounded in historical sources and the lives of individuals, in a plain and measured style.