This river in Tongmu is incredibly beautiful, especially in summer when its water is exceptionally clear—a breathtaking emerald green, like a piece of jade embedded in nature.
It is the source of the Nine Bend River in our Wuyi Mountains, as well as the origin of the Min River. Our entire childhood was essentially spent growing up playing in this river.
Its headwaters begin at Huanggang Mountain, the highest peak in the six provinces and one municipality of East China. The reason the river is so clear lies in its upstream area, which encompasses hundreds of thousands of acres of natural and primeval forests.
Through nature’s filtration, the water becomes so clean, so transparent. Our entire village has a forest coverage rate of 97.6%—meaning aside from roads, houses, and rivers, almost everything else is forest.
And tea, growing amid all these forests—its quality is undoubtedly exceptional.