On April 20, a group of expats explored local tea culture in Jintan district, Changzhou on the very special day that also marked Gu Yu, the last solar term of spring.

The group of 10 expats participated in the opening ceremony for the Go Jiangsu: Enjoy Spring Tea and Coffee in Elegant Changzhou event and learned how tea leaves are picked and the process of making Jintan Queshe Tea.

It was not until siting down to have a taste of the Queshe tea that they noticed the uniqueness of this specialty of Jintan.

“I’ve tasted different kinds of green tea in China, but it was the first time I see the leaves stand erect in the boiled water neatly this way,� said Kolosova Antonina, from Russia.

Queshe tea has a distinct appearance when dried, resembling a sparrow’s tongue, and can stand like a bamboo shoot in water for several hours.

As baristas from Season Coffee displayed how they made different kinds of coffee on site, the expats also enjoyed coffee and had a discussion on the two different drink cultures.

On the second day of the trip, expats visited the Jintan Ancient Books Printing Factory and learned to make their own paper-cuttings at Jintan Paper-cutting Arts Center.

According to Yang Zhaoqun, inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage, Jintan paper-cutting is special in that it uses a specific knife to carve patterns on paper instead of using scissors to cut it out.

Among the expats, five of them were winners of the “Jiangsu’s Changes in 40 Years� photo contest held last year. China marked the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up in 2018. To celebrate the momentous occasion, the Jiangsu Provincial Information Office and chinadaily.com.cn held a photo competition named “Jiangsu’s Changes in 40 Years,� inviting fans from around the world to share their appreciation for how far Jiangsu has come since reform and opening-up began.

The Go Jiangsu trip to Changzhou also included visits to Maoshan Mountain, Oriental Salt Lake Resort, and Baosheng Park. Last year, Go Jiangsu trips were held in Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou, Yangzhou, and Zhangjiagang. The Changzhou event was the first Go Jiangsu trip of 2019 with more to be announced later in the year.