WE are travelling now in China and we try to taste
different teas in tea House.
We plan to go to Chengdu, Songpan, Xiahe, Lanzhou, Luoyang,
Shanghai, Hanzou, Beijing.
If you know nice places to sip good teas please let us know.
Thanks
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the People's park in Chengdu. There is also one along the
river bank in Chengdu. Great for taking pics of the locals
doing the day to day stuff like having their ears waxed!!!
Actually, there are a number of teahouses "along the river"
in Chengdu. The nearest to the Traffic Hotel (where I
assume most people stay) is pretty nice with potted plants
and heated mahjong battles, although the white cement
enclosure of the place isn't exactly traditional-looking.
Just cross the river and walk west along the river toward
Renmin Nan Lu and the Jinjiang Hotel. You'll walk right
into the middle of it. There is another one close to the
Cultural Park/Qingyang Temple area (a number of buses
terminate across from the park) at Yihuan Lu further west.
It's at the end of a mock-Qing dynasty street called Qintai
Lu. The teahouse is in a sort of pagoda replica that's a
bit more fun than the average place. After tea there, you
could cross the bridge for a walk through Baihuatan
Park...where you'll probably find another teahouse. Qintai
Lu, although designed for tourists/business accounts, is
also lined with very serene, no doubt expensive teahouses
that would make for a quiet escape from the bustle of
things. I've seen a couple of other teahouses along the
northern section of the Fuhe River between Fuqing Lu (near
the big amusement park) and Jiefang Lu further west. I
haven't visited them, but this area is developing as an
expensive business/residential area. The big one in the
People's Park (Renmin Gong Yuan), as already mentioned, is
nice: there's a pond surrounding it, which adds a tranquil
element if it's not too busy. There is another teahouse
further back in Renmin Park as well; walk along the main
path and through a gate, it's toward the back of the main
garden area. If there is a flower show on, it's a nicer
place to be than the big one in front. The teahouse at
Wenshu Temple (#16 bus north from the Jinjiang Hotel area)
is always popular, busy, and atmospheric: a combination of
elderly men and women, businesspeople, mahjongers, incense
burning, etc. Another atmospheric place is the old Jinjiang
Theater downtown (a block or two west of Hongxing Lu and a
block north of Renmin Dong Lu/Dongfeng Lu): it's a place for
Sichuan/Beijing Opera performances, although they're rare so
usually it's just an old teahouse gradually being crowded
out by new construction.
The truth is, see the sights in Chengdu and you'll probably
stumble across any number of teahouses that may interest
you. The truth (at least for me) also is that, very often,
the tea in many of these places isn't that great.
The most famous tea house in CHina is in Shanghai, in the
YuYuan Gardens. Many British Monarchs have tasted Chi8nese
tea there, including (I think) Elizabth I. Anyway, whatever
the background, it is absolutely beautiful, and with the
tea you get lots of little snacks and delicacies like dried
plums and tea boiled quails eggs. But beware of one major
thing. We went upstairs (the views are spectacular, the tea
house is on a small lake) and got a menu. Only later did we
find out they had given us the more 'upperclass' menu. If
you don't have a lot of money, make sure you ask for the
regular Joe Bloggs' menu!!!