Explore the Splendid Camellia Scenery at Sichuan Mengding Mountain

In the spring, when there is nothing to do, flowers become the main event. In March, cherry blossoms[...]

In the spring, when there is nothing to do, flowers become the main event. In March, cherry blossoms, peach blossoms, and rapeseed flowers in Sichuan are all blooming magnificently. They are pink, white, or peach-colored, and a slight breeze passes over the branches, causing the flowers to leave and fall like a springtime petal rain. Seeing these elegant and light colors, one cannot help but think that spring is just so gentle.

While you might be captivated by the elegance of spring flowers, the thousand-acre camellias on Mengding Mountain are quietly in full bloom, with passionate red flowers filling the entire mountain, as if to announce the imminent arrival of mid-spring. If you are tired of the elegant spring flowers, you might as well come to Mengding Mountain to appreciate the appearance of the bright red camellias.

Mengding Mountain, the source of world tea, is located between the ‘Heaven’s Leakage’ Ya’an Rain City District and the famous Mingshan District, only a two-hour drive from Chengdu, and is one of the three famous mountains in Sichuan. The mountain is surrounded by five peaks like a lotus flower, with majestic peaks, steep ridges, deep ravines with waterfalls, and clouds and fog, making it a picturesque place. Here, you can look up at the high wind and the desolate scenery; look down at the Qiang River flowing around, surrounded by many mountains; tea fields, ancient temples, and unique flowers and stones make it a wonderful place.

Mengding Mountain in China is the source of world tea. Mengding Mountain is a tea mountain shrouded in clouds and mist, with tens of thousands of acres of tea gardens, but it is more than just a tea mountain. On Mengding Mountain, there is a viewing platform with the lowest altitude in Western Sichuan, where you can get a close view of the cityscape of Ya’an’s famous Mingshan District and Rain City District; if the weather is very good, you can also see the famous mountains of Emei, Wawu, Xiling Snow Mountain, Four Girls Mountain, Jiajin Mountain, and Gongga Mountain from a distance.

The mountain is densely covered with towering trees, which has led to the emergence of the interesting and thrilling canopy walk. In the mountain, there are tea fields, ancient temples, a thousand-year-old ginkgo forest, a red culture museum, and a world tea culture museum, which are beautiful and fun places.

Looking at the spring of Mengding Mountain, enjoying the thousand-acre camellias. In spring, a touch of bright red camellias also indicates the beginning of a good year. Having been to Mengding Mountain several times, I accidentally discovered this thousand-acre camellia sea in this spring. The mountain is covered with camellias, and the green mountains are particularly charming under the reflection of the stars-like camellias.

Camellias usually bloom between winter and spring, with full and elegant postures. Because of their beautiful plant shapes, dark green leaves with luster, and bright and colorful flowers, they are valued by the world’s horticultural industry. It is reported that camellias, anciently called ‘Hai Liu’, are evergreen flowering trees of the camellia family, but sometimes they grow into shrubs. Camellias range in height from 0.5 meters to 5 meters, with varying heights, some blooming profusely, and some blooming sparsely. The types of camellias on Mengding Mountain are diverse, with flower colors ranging from red, pink, white, to even multicolored streaked camellias.

Camellias are the first touch of red in spring, bright and vivid. Looking at those camellias, they bloom with smiling faces, swaying on the branches, with layered heart-shaped flower braids, fragrant and rich. The distant mountains are vast, and a tree of red flowers stands on the branches, with flowers held high, each one so spirited and vigorous.

Spring outing to Mengding, looking at the ten thousand acres of tea gardens, enjoying the pure white mountain cherry blossoms, and looking at the dazzling red camellias, showing a poetic spring.

[Mengding Mountain Flower Viewing and Play Route]
Sightseeing bus route (during the camellia viewing period): Tea Altar · Cableway Station [starting point] – Heavenly Ladder Ancient Road – Washing Heart Bridge [stop] – No.1 Viewing Platform – Buddhist Zen Temple Tea Culture Experience Center · Dust Floating Bridge – Lingyun Platform [stop] – Sheep Pen Gate – Thousand Acres Camellia Garden [end point]

The ‘Cherry Blossom Rain’ in the Tea Garden. Mengding Mountain’s spring is a ‘macaron’-like cable car, shuttling between the flowers. Mengding Mountain’s spring is a sweet and clear Mengding Mountain tea. Mengding Mountain’s spring is ‘a touch of white among the green’ because the white cherry blossoms are also beautiful and moving. In the spring, the tea garden of Mengding Mountain has a ‘cherry blossom rain’. Almost every tea garden can see a few cherry blossoms or leaf plum blossoms. In clusters, white and flawless. When a spring breeze blows, it rolls off the petals, like white butterflies playing in the tea garden, and like a romantic flower rain under the clear sky, extremely romantic.Mengshan Lingyun Platform, a beautiful tea garden viewing spot. Enter Sichuan Mengding Mountain and feel the poetic spring. In the lush tea garden, a wild cherry blossom blooms quietly. Pink and white like snow, under the shine of the sun, it is as holy as jade. A spring breeze blows, and a tree full of flowers is scattered by the wind, extremely romantic.

Following the spring flower viewing route of the sightseeing car, you can come to Lingyun Platform of Mengding Mountain. Spring tea spits new buds, and tea farmers are busy picking tea. Standing on the platform of Lingyun Platform, you can see the ten thousand acres of tea gardens. The tea gardens are distributed in a circular ‘terraced’ pattern, growing vigorously under the nourishment of the high mountain rain and fog. The distant tea mountains are vaguely visible, with a touch of mystery.

Walking along the walking plank road, you can get a close view of the tea gardens in different areas. In the viewing platform in the middle of the plank road, you can also overlook the high-rise buildings of Ya’an. At the other end of the plank road, there is a wide suspension bridge. This bridge spans the valley, and walking on the bridge is thrilling. It looks like an ordinary suspension bridge, but it connects the scenery on both sides of the valley, forming a beautiful picture.

The World Tea Culture Museum, tracing the source of tea. A piece of tea leaves dye a green world, and a holy mountain extends an ancient road. Mengding Mountain is the birthplace of world tea culture and the holy mountain of Chinese tea culture. The World Tea Culture Museum covers an area of 2000 square meters and comprehensively displays the origin and prosperity of world tea culture, as well as the varieties of tea and the changes of tea utensils at home and abroad. Through the form of tea-related calligraphy and painting, it reveals the ancient and modern tea industry and inherits the long-lasting charm of tea. ‘Millennium Mengding, tea fragrance all over the world’ interprets the essence of tea culture. Ya’an is located in the throat of western Sichuan and has frequent exchanges with ethnic minorities. The ancient tea horse road is the way for Mengding Mountain tea to flow into the Tibetan area, and tea for horses has witnessed the development of an era. Passing through the historical tunnel of tea culture, entering the interior of the World Tea Culture Museum, you can see the classification of world tea species and the situation of tea planting in Mengding Mountain in history. Visiting ancient tea containers, each piece of cultural relic is very exquisite, and it is still a fine handicraft today, which shows that the aesthetic level of ancient people is very high. In the second half of the World Tea Culture Museum, the tea drinking habits of various countries and the unique ‘Dragon Walk 18 Styles’ tea art performance of Mengding Mountain are exhibited. After visiting this museum, you have gained a lot of knowledge about tea culture.

Mengding Mountain Holiday Resort Hotel: Beautiful mountain dwelling. As the saying goes, ‘a small seclusion is in the wild’. Going out for a vacation, a comfortable hotel largely determines the mood of the journey. Spring outing to Mengding Mountain, staying in a picturesque mountain dwelling, looking up is a riot of flowers, pushing the window you can see the green mountains looming, the continuous undulating mountains, under the bustling Ya’an City and Mingshan City. Mengding Mountain Holiday Resort Hotel is located at the entrance of Mengding Mountain Scenic Area, just a step away from the big teapot of Mengding Mountain, and the viewing platform on the hillside of Mengding Mountain. Staying in the hotel, you can feel the warm service. The hotel has a gym, restaurant, leisure tea break area, and small shops, which meet the basic needs of travelers. Staying in the top luxury suite, with green mountains entering the house, a wide and soft big bed, a large living room, and a courtyard bathtub. In the elegant courtyard, basking in the sun, enjoying flowers, and drinking tea is very pleasant. The first ray of sunlight on Mengding Mountain in the morning can also be seen when you open the door. The large outdoor courtyard can also be used for barbecues, which is very suitable for family outings or friends’ gatherings. The restaurant in the hotel can see the mountain scenery of Mengding Mountain at 180 degrees. The spacious and bright restaurant environment shows the high quality of Mengding Mountain Holiday Resort Hotel. Enjoying Chinese food in the restaurant, you can eat delicious Sichuan cuisine and Ya’an’s special dishes, such as Ya fish, sausages, and pickled meat. Each dish is very exquisitely arranged, with color, aroma, and taste, and every bite is a great sense of satisfaction. If you are tired of the hustle and bustle of the city, then hide in the quiet mountains and forests, lying in the beautiful dwellingMengding Mountain Tiangai Temple offers a slow-paced experience with a cup of clear tea. In spring, the breeze blows, spring birds chirp, and the tea fragrance lingers. The leisure of spring lies in brewing a bowl of covered bowl tea, sitting in the woods, basking in the warm spring sun, watching the breeze pass by, and enjoying a field of white snow-like mountain flowers. Here, one can get rid of the troubles in the heart and enjoy a quiet place by oneself.

Coming to Mengding Mountain, one can look at the ten thousand acres of tea gardens. Climbing up the steps, one can come to Tiangai Temple to drink tea and watch the wonderful ‘Dragon Walk 18 Styles’ tea art performance, and taste the clear and mellow fragrance of Mengding sweet dew. ‘Dragon Walk 18 Styles’ integrates traditional tea ceremony, acrobatics, martial arts, dance, Zen, and Yi theory into one. Each style is full of mystery and amazing. On Mengding Mountain, one can also learn ‘tea burning incense’ with tea artists, as if passing through ancient times and becoming a noble lady practicing tea ceremony. Tasting the sweet and elegant charm of Mengshan clear tea is full of interest.

Next to the temple, there is a hand-made tea frying performance. The visible green food has a mellow and strong taste. Passing through Tiangai Temple and continuing to go up, walking through the forest path, one can see the Imperial Tea Garden, the thousand-year-old tea tree king, and the statue of Yu. After winding mountain roads, the stone wall is a tea poetry forest. For thousands of years, the praise of tea by famous people can be seen here. If you like adventure, you might as well continue to climb up. Walking into the deep forest, you can experience the thrilling canopy walk. It is composed of walking bridges, horizontal wood bridges, corridor bridges, ladder bridges, wire bridges, swing bridges, round wood bridges, tire bridges, plum bridge, footboard bridge, Z-shaped bridge, and vertical bar sliding rope. The upgraded canopy walk takes about 3-4 hours to play.

Next to Tiangai Temple, there is also an elegant ginkgo courtyard. Travelers who come to Mengding Mountain to play, admire ginkgo, and experience the whole line of canopy walk can stay here for a night. There are many types of rooms in Ginkgo Courtyard, including comfortable big beds, twin beds, and loft duplex beautiful houses. The room is very elegant. You can taste tea and look out of the window to see the lush green Mengding Mountain scenery and the lush forest, which is super healing.

In spring, there are always some beautiful things worth our efforts, such as the thousand acres of passionate camellias, the ten thousand acres of green tea gardens, and the beautiful mountain dwellings that you can see when you push the window. Spring outing, come to Mengding Mountain! Collide with spring, immerse in the picturesque beauty of Mengding Mountain, and return with satisfaction.

Practical Strategy
Mengding Mountain Scenic Area
Opening hours: 8:30-18:00
Scenic area ticket: low season (November 1 – March 31): 45 yuan/person, peak season (April 1 – October 31): 52 yuan/person.
Cableway ticket: low season (November 1 – March 31) one-way 20 yuan/person, peak season (April 1 – October 31) one-way 30 yuan/person.
Canopy Walk: A line 28 yuan, the whole line 98 yuan.
World Tea Culture Museum: 20 yuan/person.
Address: Sanmeng Road, Mingshan District, Ya’an City
Accommodation: Next to the big teapot in the park: Mengding Mountain Holiday Resort Hotel. Next to Tiangai Temple: Mengding Mountain Ginkgo Courtyard.
Play itinerary recommendation:
The first day: Chengdu – Mengding Mountain Tiangai Temple – Imperial Tea Garden – Canopy Walk.
The second day: Mengding Mountain viewing platform (watching the sunrise) – Mengding Mountain thousand acres of camellias – Lingyun Platform (watching tea gardens/cherry blossoms) – World Tea Culture Museum – tea picking experience – return.