Living in China, we’re lucky to celebrate both Chinese and Western holidays, and this week we’re enjoying the fortunate coincidence of Qingming Festival and Easter, both on Sunday April 5. Qingming Festival, besides being a holiday spent tending the graves of loved ones, is often the major marker of the beginning of spring and a three day holiday set aside for basking in spring weather. For Qingming Festival this year, we decided to return to our beloved Hangzhou. The days leading up to Qingming here are especially important, as the treasured Longjing tea which is picked right before this holiday is considered the highest quality of the entire harvest season.

For this occasion, we’re also happy to announce the launch of China Tea Leaves on Instagram! Find us @chinatealeaves. We’ll be posting through the holiday weekend. Today gave us blue skies over West Lake, with willows and red peach blossoms blowing in the breeze. Above is our featured Instagram picture of the day. Check out more over on Instagram. Tomorrow we’ll be in Longjing village, tasting and picking the young leaves of green tea.