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Getting to Anji
From Shanghai
The most convenient approach for international visitors.
By high-speed train: Take HSR from Shanghai Hongqiao Station to Anji Station (安吉站). Journey: approximately 1.5 hours, ¥60–80. Trains run several times daily.
By bus: From Shanghai South Long-Distance Bus Terminal (上海南站汽车站), direct buses to Anji County City. Journey: 2.5–3 hours, ¥60–80.
By car/self-drive: Shanghai to Anji via expressway takes about 2 hours. Parking is straightforward.
From Hangzhou
Even faster — 45 minutes by high-speed train, ¥30–45. Several daily trains. This makes Anji an easy half-day extension to a Hangzhou visit.
Getting Around Anji
The main scenic areas are spread across the county. From Anji County City (安吉县城), taxis and DiDi can reach most sites:
- Bamboo Sea Scenic Area: 10km from city, ¥20–30 taxi
- Tianhuangping: 30km from city, ¥50–70 taxi
- White Tea gardens: Various distances; ask at your accommodation
Organized day tours from Shanghai and Hangzhou include transportation between sites. For independent travelers, renting a car locally or using DiDi is most flexible.
Bamboo Sea Scenic Area (竹海景区 / 大竹海)
The Anji “Grand Bamboo Sea” scenic area is the main organized tourism zone. Entry fee: ¥40/person.
What to See Inside
The Forest Paths: The main draw is simply walking through the bamboo — paths wind through groves where the bamboo reaches 20m and creates a dense canopy overhead. The light filtering through is green-tinged and diffuse. Sound is muffled and the air noticeably cooler.
The Crouching Tiger Location: The specific filming location for the Crouching Tiger bamboo duel is on a ridge within the scenic area. It’s marked with a small sign and a viewing platform. Cinematically it’s nothing special to look at on the ground — the magic was the camera angles — but the surrounding forest is still extraordinary.
Bamboo Crafts Village: Within the scenic area, several artisan workshops demonstrate traditional bamboo craftsmanship. Bamboo chair-making, basket weaving, and bamboo paper production can be observed and learned. Some offer participation workshops for ¥50–80.
Bamboo Museum (中国竹子博物馆): Actually informative — the natural history, cultural uses, and ecology of Chinese bamboo species. Free entry to the outdoor bamboo species garden (showcasing 100+ bamboo varieties). Museum entry: ¥20.
Photographic Conditions
The bamboo forest is most photogenic:
- In morning mist (spring especially): The filtered light and occasional fog patches create ethereal conditions
- After rain: The fresh green glows more intensely and the paths steam slightly
- At midday in summer: Avoidable — flat light and higher humidity
For the cinematic effect from the movie, find a path that runs straight between high bamboo walls, use a wide angle lens, and shoot at ground level looking up the “corridor.”
Tianhuangping Area (天荒坪)
The Tianhuangping reservoir area (天荒坪水库) is a different landscape — an enormous pumped-storage hydroelectric reservoir surrounded by forested mountains. The dam itself is impressive engineering, and the drive up through the mountains is one of the better scenic roads in northern Zhejiang.
The reservoir sits at the top of the mountain and the views across the water and into the valley below are excellent. A lakeside trail circuit takes about 2 hours.
The drive from Anji city to Tianhuangping passes through the most rural part of the county — bamboo villages, river valleys, and the gradually increasing altitude. This is best done by private car or organized tour.
White Tea Experience (安吉白茶)
Anji Baicha is one of China’s premium teas and one of the most misunderstood. Despite the name “white tea,” it’s processed as a green tea — the “white” refers to the pale, almost translucent color of the leaves in spring when the temperature is still cool. When the weather warms, the leaves turn green and are no longer suitable for this tea.
The harvest window for genuine Anji Baicha is narrow: Qingming Festival (around April 4–6) to Grain Rain (April 20–22). The highest quality “pre-Qingming” (明前) tea from the first harvest commands premium prices.
Tea Garden Visits
Anji’s tea gardens are scattered across the hillsides east and north of the county city. The most visitor-friendly option:
Anji White Tea Museum and Demonstration Garden (安吉白茶博物馆): Free entry, includes tea tasting and explanation of the cultivation and processing process. Located near the county government district.
Tea Farm Visits: Several families offer tea-picking experiences during the April harvest season. For ¥80–150/person, you spend 2 hours picking and then participate in the simple processing (withering and rolling). You keep a small amount of the tea you pick. Book through your accommodation or the local tourism bureau.
Buying Genuine Anji Baicha:
- Price guide: ¥200–500 for 50g of decent quality; ¥800+ for premium spring harvest
- Buy from registered farms or the official tea cooperative shops (look for the 安吉白茶 certification mark)
- Avoid tourist-area stalls with very low prices — almost certainly inferior tea or not genuine Anji origin
Tea Tasting Properly
If you’re offered tea at a farm, here’s how to get the most from the experience:
- Use water at 75–80°C (not boiling) — high heat destroys the delicate flavor
- First steep: 30–45 seconds. This is the best cup.
- Second steep: 45–60 seconds
- Third steep: 60–90 seconds
- Genuine Anji Baicha has a vegetal, slightly sweet, almost orchid-like fragrance and a very clean, light taste
Bamboo Shoots: The Edible Season
Late February to early April is bamboo shoot season (竹笋季) in Anji. Fresh moso bamboo shoots — thick as a human arm — emerge from the soil and are harvested before they open. The texture is crunchy and the flavor delicate, very different from canned or dried bamboo shoots.
Every restaurant in Anji during this season features bamboo shoots: stir-fried with pork, braised with soy sauce, in soup, and as a standalone vegetable. It’s worth timing a visit to coincide with this season specifically for the food.
Bamboo shoot dishes to try:
- 春笋炒咸肉 (Fresh bamboo shoot with salt-cured pork): ¥35–45
- 腌笃鲜 (Slow-braised pork and fresh shoot soup): ¥40–60 for a clay pot serving 2
- 炸春卷 (Spring rolls with fresh bamboo shoot filling): ¥15–25
Accommodation
Most visitors do Anji as a day trip, but staying overnight gives access to morning light in the bamboo and the quiet that returns after afternoon visitors leave.
In Anji County City:
- Budget: Chain hotels from ¥120–200/night
- Mid-range: Several business hotels, from ¥200–350/night
Bamboo-themed guesthouses: The Anji area has developed a notable boutique guesthouse scene, particularly in the village of Sishu (报福镇) and other rural areas near the bamboo forests. These typically offer:
- Traditional Zhejiang rural architecture with bamboo interior design
- Farm breakfast with local seasonal vegetables
- Direct access to bamboo groves
- From ¥280–500/night for a double room
Top recommendation: The “Cloud Green Inn” style guesthouses in the hills around the scenic area — Google/Xiaohongshu search for 安吉竹林民宿 for current best-reviewed options.
Food in Anji
Beyond bamboo shoots, Anji’s cuisine is rooted in the Zhejiang tradition — mild, fresh-focused, with careful attention to seasonal ingredients.
Local specialties:
- Mountain chicken (土鸡): Free-range local chickens slow-cooked in clay pots with Shaoxing wine, mushrooms, and herbs. A different thing entirely from city chicken.
- Bamboo tube rice (竹筒饭): Rice steamed inside a bamboo section — absorbs the bamboo fragrance
- Wild mushrooms (野生菌): Late summer and autumn brings forager’s mushrooms from the hills — excellent when simply cooked
Best place to eat: Village restaurants in the bamboo area (农家乐) serve the most authentic food. Look for places with smoke coming from the kitchen — it means wood fire cooking.
Practical Tips
Best overall visit time: Spring (March–April) for bamboo shoots and tea harvest; autumn (October–November) for the most golden bamboo light; winter (December–January) for the cleanest air and quietest atmosphere.
Summer (June–August): Hot and humid. The forest offers some relief but it’s not the ideal season.
Budget per day: Day trip from Shanghai/Hangzhou: ¥200–400 including transport, entry, and food. Overnight budget: add ¥200–400 for accommodation.
Package tours: Many Shanghai and Hangzhou travel agencies offer 1-day and 2-day Anji packages (¥200–400/person from Shanghai) that handle transport and major site entry. Convenient but leaves less flexibility.
Anji rewards the traveler who looks beyond the movie connection. The combination of spectacular bamboo landscape, genuine tea culture, and a rural Zhejiang food tradition that hasn’t been sanitized for tourism makes it one of eastern China’s finest short-trip destinations.