Chaye Secret Realm: Anhua's Niche Hit

🚗 [Itinerary Overview: Two Days Traversing the Ancient Tea Horse Road] Day 1: Huanghuaxi Village → Ancient Thousand-Year Tree → Dongshi Old Street → Yongxi Bridge → Overnight Stay in an Ancient Village Day 2: Dark Tea Museum → Tea Factory Exploration → Ancient Tea Horse Road Hike → Return Trip 🌄 Day 1: Emerald Fairyland and Ming-Qing Dynasty Charm ⏰ 9:00–12:00 Huanghuaxi Village: Stream Tracing Adventure 📍 Navigate to Huanghuaxi Village Visitor Center (free parking) Step into the village in the early morning, where the stream cuts through the valley like emerald. Step barefoot into the shallows under the stone slab bridge, and the icy stream awakens you. Learn to fish from the villagers wearing straw hats—insert a bamboo basket diagonally into the gaps in the stream stones, and in half an hour, you can catch half a bucket of wild rock carp! When you trace the stream to the "Three Waterfalls," the water mist refracts a rainbow. Wear Hanfu and stand on the rocks under the waterfall. At the moment the shutter clicks, the startled egrets become a dynamic foreground. 🌳 13:00–15:00 Ancient Thousand-Year Tree: Touching the Wheel of Time 📍 Ancient tree group on the west side of the village (20-minute walk required) The 1,500-year-old Acer tree king is 39m high, and its trunk requires six people to hug it. The canopy covers half the valley like a giant umbrella, and the bark's ravines hide red silk wishing ribbons tied by villagers. The tree-keeper hands over a bamboo ladder: "Dare you climb it? You can see the entire Ancient Tea Horse Road from the third horizontal branch!" Climbing to a height of 15m, the entire ancient village and distant mountains unfold under your feet like "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains." 🏯 16:00–18:00 Dongshi Old Street: The Twilight of the Tea Horse Inn 📍 Navigate to Dongshi Old Street (free) The 500m-long bluestone road has been polished by the years, and the Ming and Qing wooden buildings on both sides are tilted into a 70° dangerous building aesthetic. At the old house of "Taihemei Tea Shop," He Youyuan, the ninth-generation inheritor, performs ancient tea-making methods on-site. The tea fragrance explodes when the iron pot is used for fixation. He smiles mysteriously: "This craft is passed down to men but not women, but tourists can experience it as an exception!" At the end of the old street, the "fish leaping over the dragon gate" wood carvings on the beams and pillars of the He Clan Ancestral Hall are brightened by time. Wear a horse skirt and lean against the door frame, and the light and shadow cut out a natural picture frame. 🌇 18:30–20:00 Yongxi Bridge: Ink Painting Sunset 📍 Navigate to Yongxi Bridge (arrive 1 hour before sunset is recommended) The 143-year-old wind and rain bridge spans the Maxi River, and the smoke from cooking and the twilight blend together at dusk. Squat on the stone pier at the head of the bridge and wait for the villagers carrying tea baskets to walk through the wooden corridor. Use a telephoto lens to compress the sense of space, and the bridge opening frames the distant mountains like a natural viewfinder. Stay overnight at "Guxie Fire Shop" next to the bridge, a wooden house where mule caravans rested a hundred years ago, converted into a homestay. Open the window and you can hear the stream and insects playing together. 🍵 Day 2: Immersive Opening of the Dark Tea Universe ⏰ 8:30–11:00 Dark Tea Museum: Traveling Through a Thousand Years of Tea History 📍 China Dark Tea Museum (free with ID card) In the 9-story antique pavilion, touch the rough texture of the Song Dynasty "Qujiang Thin Sheet" tea bricks. The most shocking thing is the 4D holographic theater—the sound of horse bells on the Ancient Tea Horse Road and the shouts of porters come from all directions, and the phantoms of tea merchants fighting with bandits pass by. Learn the secrets of the docent: stomp your feet three times in the "Thousand-Liang Tea Treading" interactive area to trigger hidden tea mountain folk song easter eggs. 🏭 13:00–15:00 China Tea Anhua No. 1 Tea Factory: Living Industrial History 📍 Youzhou Community, Dongping Town (visit by appointment) Travel through the tea-scented mist of a century-old wooden warehouse. Thirty Qing Dynasty tea warehouses are still in use today. Put on white gloves to experience the "Seven-Star Stove" baking process. The master whispers: "Turn the tea against the grain to lock in the mountain air!" In the sawtooth-shaped workshop, watch the modern production line press tea bricks into chocolate shapes, and secretly stuff a piece into your mouth—the slightly bitter aftertaste is the taste of dark tea! ⛰️ 16:00–18:00 Ancient Tea Horse Road: Life and Death Speed on the Cliff 📍 Yaozijiang Ancient Road (guide required) Hike 7 km on the ancient post road. The wooden boardwalk is embedded on a vertical cliff face, with a 100m-deep valley below. When passing through "A Thread of Sky," stick close to the stone wall and move. The mountain spring seeping from the top of the cliff wets your back. When you reach the top, you suddenly encounter mountain fog, and the sea of clouds swallows the peaks. In a trance, you seem to hear the copper bells of the mule caravan coming from the cracks in time and space… 📸 [2025 Photo Tips] 1️⃣ Yongxi Bridge Blue Hour: Open long exposure for 10 minutes after sunset, and the bridge lanterns are in the same frame as the starry sky 2️⃣ Ancient Tree Upward Shot: Use 0.5x wide-angle + fisheye filter to distort the trunk into a time tunnel 3️⃣ Tea Factory Light and Shadow: The grille windows of the century-old wooden warehouse project light spots, and people in plain clothes stand in silhouette 4️⃣ Cliff Highway: Aerial photography of the "zigzag" turns of the Ancient Tea Horse Road, surrounded by clouds and mist like a dragon's spine 🚗 [Transportation Hacks] • Departure from Changsha: Changzhi Expressway turns to Erguang Expressway, 3 hours direct (avoid the easily congested Loudi section) • Parking Alternative: Huanghuaxi Village Committee Courtyard offers free parking. Report the code word "Ancient Tree King" to unlock the charging pile • Hiking Shortcut: The entrance to the Ancient Tea Horse Road is hidden in the back alley of the store, saving 20 minutes of mountain road 🏡 [Accommodation Revolution] • Guxie Fire Shop: Mule caravan bunk converted into a loft (CNY 298/night), with a horse whip hanging on the head of the bed • Cliff Tea House: Yuntaishan Glass House (book 1 month in advance), pick cloud and mist tea by opening the window in the morning • Lightning Protection Guide: Choose street-facing homestays carefully, the sound of people gathering at 5am is comparable to an early market 🍜 [Taste Bud Nuke] • Mule Caravan Meal: Bamboo tube braised pork + fern root cake, served with wild berry wine (CNY 68/set) • Dark Cuisine: Tea-fried eggs (freshly picked Yuntai large leaves), the bitter aroma subverts the perception of taste • Hidden Menu: Tell the teahouse owner "I want Sansheng Soup" to unlock the metaphysics combination of dark tea + peanuts + ginger 📍 [2025 Survival Rules] 1. Anti-Slip Must-Have: The moss on the Ancient Tea Horse Road is comparable to an ice rink. Buy ice claw shoe covers on Taobao (50% cheaper than renting at the scenic spot) 2. Insect Repellent Metaphysics: Villagers self-brewed tea bran water is sprayed on the corners of clothes, and the mosquito repellent effect is better than Six God 3. Photography Taboos: It is forbidden to photograph the Yongxi Bridge Buddha statue from the front. Taking a side view with the incense burner smoke is more photogenic 4. Tea Factory Secrets: The temperature and humidity of the century-old wooden warehouse are special. Hiding tea bricks may cause mold! When I finished eating the fern root cake on the third branch of the Ancient Tree King, a crack suddenly opened in the mountain fog, and the Ancient Tea Horse Road's stone slab road gleamed in the sun. Perhaps this is the magic of Anhua—using 48 hours, from Song Dynasty tea bricks to cliffside ancient roads, letting every gust of wind be wrapped in the tea fragrance and the dust of history, and even breathing becomes poetry. Practical Coordinates 📍 Huanghuaxi Ancient Tree Group: 20-minute walk west of the village (ask the villagers for the "Sacred Tree" to reach) 📍 Dongshi Old Street Tea Shop: Taihemei Tea Shop (demonstrates ancient tea-making methods daily at 10:00/15:00) 📍 Cliff Tea House: Yuntaishan Starry Sky Camp Note: 1. A local guide is required for hiking on the Ancient Tea Horse Road (CNY 100/team) to prevent getting lost 2. The Dark Tea Museum is closed on Mondays. Make an appointment for a tour in advance on the official account 3. The best time to experience tea picking is from May to June, and the highest probability of seeing a sea of clouds is from September to October