President Nixon’s visit to China & Long Jing Tea (Dragon Well)

In 1972, during President Nixon’s visit to China, beside Beijing, he also went to Hangzhou, where is the origin of the Long Jing Tea or Drgon Well. Premier Zhou Enlai hosted a dinner at the a famous restaurant “Lou Wai Lou” in the city. There was a unique dish named “Longjing Shrimp” on the table. The green and tender Long Jing tea leaves scattered on the crystal like shrimp. It looks very beautiful and tastes extremely delicious. Nixon like it very much and praised it as ‘a piece of art’.

After dinner, another cup of Longjing tea came into his stomach. Fortunately I found a photo of it. The fragrance was refreshing. It was amazing! He could not help praising: “West Lake Long Jing Tea, deserves its reputation!”

One of his gifts from Hangzhou was a big bag of West Lake Longjing Tea. After Nixon returned home, he shared Longjing tea to his relatives and friends. As the door of China & US relation opened, there was a surge of China fever in the United States at that time. Longjing tea has also become a hot topic among Americans, especially Chinese Americans. That’s why you always heard about it. But you haven’t heard about Nixon’s story with Da Hong Pao , because he only got 200 grams, and I guess he drank all of them himself and kept it as a secret.

From 1972 to 2022 of today, it has been 50 years now. So many things have been changed for the time being, but the taste of Long Jing is still the same.