Tea house entrepreneur finds heaven on top of mountain in China
SANQINGSHAN, SHANGRAO CITY, JIANGXI PROVINCE, CHINA: Su Mengli fell in love with Sanqingshan, or Mount Sanqing, the very first time she hiked the mountain 15 years ago.
Seeing the breathtaking view of the mountain, she decided to give up her job at Wuyi Mountains in Fujian province and took over a tea house and guest houses from the previous owner in 2004.
Sanqingshan, located at northeast of Shangrao City in Jiangxi Province, acquired its name from the three peaks, namely Yujing Peak, Yuxu Peak and Yuhua Peak.
The peaks were named after the three founders of Taoism – Yuqing, Shangqing and Taiqing.
The highest peak, Yujing Peak, is 1,819.9 metres above sea level.
Sanqingshan is a UNESCO world natural heritage, global geopark and national 5A tourist spot.
The mountain boasts rich biodiversity, with 2,373 species of plants and 1,728 species of wild animals.
The 229.5 square kilometres Sanqingshan National Park features amazingly shaped pillars and peaks – 48 granite peaks and 89 granite pillars, many of which resemble human or animal silhouettes. The unique landscape of granite peaks and columns were formed as a result of 1.4 billion years of geological movements. One of the three wonders in Sanqingshan is a granite pillar of 128 metres tall that resembles a giant python slithering out of the mountain, overlooking the valley.
Meanwhile, the Oriental Goddess, another iconic view of the mountain, is a granite peak 86 metres high which resembles the silhouette of a maid with shoulder-length hair. Hike further up the footpath and one will see the Horse Head Rock, which is believed to bring success for any person who touches it, and the breast-shaped rocks.
Su’s first visit to Sanqingshan was back in 2003 upon the recommendation of her friend who insisted that the view of the mountain could not be found anywhere else.
She took a bus without airconditioning on a dusty ride up Sanqingshan.
“When I reached the foot of the mountain, my hair was all tangled up because of the dust!
“At that point, I wondered if I could stay on this mountain.”
Nevertheless, Su ascended the mountain the next day just after a rain.
“The view from the mountain was spectacular.
The mist on the mountain, blooming Rhododendron plants, streams of spring water and chirping birds made me feel like I was in a perfectly painted picture.
“Even the air I inhaled had a sweet taste to it.”
The view on the foot and on top of the mountain are different worlds altogether, she said.
“It is heaven on top of the mountain,” she gushed during an interview session with the media from Sabah who visited China in a trip organized by the Chinese Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu.
When opportunity came, Su immediately signed the agreements to take over the tea house and guest houses built at 1,500 metres above sea level at Sanqingshan.
“Managing the tea house was tough in the early days. I gave up the only room to my employees and slept on a blanket at the door.”
She also recalled her elder brother’s first visit to the tea house.
“When I knew my brother was coming for a visit, I instructed my employees to purchase vegetables, fish and meat in order to cook for him.”
It is worth noting that goods are to be carried up the mountain by porters.
By the time Su received the fish and meat five hours later, the ingredients have gone bad.
“My brother cried when he ate the rotten meat. He could not stand seeing his only sister living in such tough conditions and convinced me to run one of his business in Guangzhou.”
Her brother set up a clothes factory and let her run the business. But after a brief stay in Guangzhou, Su realized that she could no longer adapt to the city lifestyle and went back to Sanqingshan.
“My brother told me the clothes factory could earn 10 million RMB in profit a year while my business could not have earned that much in 10 years.”
Still, Su could not be persuaded.
Today, the number of visitors to Sanqingshan has also soared from 200,000 a year more than a decade ago to over 2 million annually.
Su’s business has grown from six to 86 employees. She now operates four tea houses, two souvenir shops, a guest house and owns more than 2,000 mu of tea plantations in Sanqingshan.
She has also invested 50 million RMB to develop her tea house business next to a waterfall in Sanqingshan.