Xiaoqi Village, located at the junction of Duanshen River and Xiaoqi River, is about 45 kilometers away from Wuyuan County, Shangrao City of Jiangxi Province. First built in 787, the village is the hometown of a famous official who was in charge of salt during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It features well-preserved ancient buildings and many ecological tea gardens. Visitors, thus, are able to appreciate its beautiful scenery while trying out the variety of famous tea. The village is nowadays gaining popularity among the locals and tourists alike. It is even considered to be the first village for tea culture in China. This village is like a pearl inlaid on the cultural eco-tourism line of Wuyuan and has become the National Eco-agriculture Model Village.

Xiaoqi Village itself is divided into the Upper Xiaoqi and the Lower Xiaoqi and is among the most beautiful villages of Wuyuan. They are connected by a thousand year old ancient path that measures 500 meters along which are many rape flowers for appreciation.

The natural scenery of the Upper Village contains mainly pastoral landscape of mountains and hills. Once on the mountains, visitors will enjoy the full view of the village and the original and ordinary country life. Further up the mountain lies the Jiangling Village. One could really appreciate the more peaceful rural scenery at this spot.

The Lower Xiaoqi Village has different scenery as it is located at a confluence of two rivers. The vantage location endows it with mild climate and high percentage of vegetation coverage. Many old camphor trees are planted nearby houses. At the entrance of this small village are two old residences with more than one hundred year’s history. There are many restaurants, hotels and handicraft shops that sell unique and beautiful souvenirs and local products, such as wood carvings, antiques and inkstones.

Most of the ancient buildings in Upper and Lower Villages were built during the Qing Dynasty. Each of them has several unique characteristics. These houses are connected with several bluestone paths that are quite devious like a chessboard. Houses resemble large or small chess pieces. Whilst some of these ancient buildings are ancestral halls but others are residences of high ranking officials of the Qing Dynasty.

The most distinctive feature of the whole village is the existence of many tea gardens. At the entrance of the Upper Xiaoqi Village, tourists will see a wooden archway, engraved with “China’s First Village of Tea Culture” on it. The air is filled with tea fragrances. Going into any one of the tea gardens is just like going back in time to the Qing Dynasty. There are many facilities and equipments related to the tea culture, such as tea pavilions, tea rooms, tea workshops and a beautiful gallery of tea. In an ancestral hall of the Qing Dynasty, there are more than one hundred rare tea paintings from both the Tang and Song Dynasties (618-1279) till today. There are also galleries with some basic information about tea, such as the introduction on the processes of tea production, all kinds of rare tea and its trade. This is to help tourists get a better understanding of Chinese tea culture. They can also enjoy some folk performances with unique local characteristics and participate in interesting activities related to Wuyuan tea.

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Travel Tips
Add: Xiaoqi Village, Jiangwan Town, 45 km from Wuyuan County, Shangrao City,Jiangxi Province
Entrance Fees: CNY  60 
Opening Hours: 08:00 -18:00 (March to November)  , 8:00 - 17:30 (December to February)

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