As the Grain Rain season arrives in April, tea plantations across Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, enter the final stage of the spring harvest, with fresh greenery spreading across the island's hills and coastlines.

Grain Rain is one of the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms and marks the final phase of spring.

Under mild sunshine, rows of tea bushes ripple like green waves along the mountains, creating a vivid seasonal landscape. Local tea farmers have been working against time, taking advantage of clear weather to hand-pick tender buds still carrying morning dew.

With the close of the Grain Rain period, this year's spring tea harvest comes to an end. These scenes reflect not only the labor behind each leaf but also the ecological setting that defines Zhoushan's tea culture. From plantation to cup, the journey of spring tea embodies a long-standing balance between local livelihoods and the coastal environment, illustrating a model of coexistence between people and nature.

The tea plantation area in Dinghai district, Zhoushan. [Photo/Zhoushan Daily]

Farmers pick tea buds. [Photo/Zhoushan Daily]

Students pick tea buds at Moxinshan Tea Garden in Zhoushan. [Photo/Zhoushan Daily]