In Taiwan's northwest, Hakka tea farmers keep the once-famed industry alive with guided tours and workshops. A now-preserved trail links the tea's journey from Taiwan's mountains to the coast for export.
00:00Picking out the best of the best, Chen Shaozhong spends his mornings harvesting tea leaves from the mountains of Beipu in Xinzhu County.
00:30It's a trade passed down in his family. Chen's grandfather grew tea leaves during the Japanese era, and the specialty oolong tea, known as Pong Fong, or Oriental Beauty, was a hit with tea lovers.
00:44In the 1980s, Taiwan's tea industry dwindled, but the roads connecting it remained.
01:05Known as the Rackness-Seilu Trail, this tea route runs through the northern counties of Taoyuan, Xinzhu, and Miaoli, all the way to Taichung in central Taiwan.
01:15In honor of the route's heritage, Rackness means camphor in the local indigenous languages, and Seilu means trail in Hakka.
01:23Now, many descendants of those who once carried tea along this path are keeping their heritage alive.
01:35Rackness-Seilu Trail, Taiwan's tea leaves, the people here continue to honor the golden age of Taiwan's tea trade.
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