Top of the crops: summer brings peak in fruit and tea picking

Tea growers at Bai Ta Cun, Yixing, Wuxi, pick tea in the village's sprawling tea gardens. [Photo/wxrb.com]

With the Start of Summer (Chinese: 立夏) -- the 7th solar term of the year -- beginning on May 5, fruit and tea picking is in its peak season in China.

Bai Ta Cun, or White Tower Village in southwest Yixing, Wuxi, is a particular favorite among locals to pick and taste the freshest and best offerings of the season.

Featuring a farming culture park, agricultural and forestry garden as well as a mountain villa, the village has earned both a provincial and municipal reputation as an ideal rural tourism destination.

During weekends, thousands of visitors flock to the village to pick tea, cherries, mulberries and many other specialty fruits, while being refreshed by the tranquil and lush scenery of early summer.