Tea Culture Lives at Hangzhou Expo

Long-standing tradition

A man dries tea. The West Lake Longjing 'Tea-stirring King' contest will be held at this year's tea culture expo. (Source:China Daily / Hong Lin)

Hangzhou has been producing tea since the Sui Dynasty (581-618). "The Venice of the Orient", as it is sometimes called, has plenty of water resources and favorable weather for growing tea trees.

Drinking tea is a common practice in daily life. And the city hosts eight official organizations dedicated to researching everything related to tea, from its cultivation and culture to technology and economy.

Tea sommeliers have been listed in Chinese Categorization of Job Professions because of rising interest in restoring traditional teahouses.

However, tea culture was not secular at the beginning. It originated from Buddhist practices in ancient times.

Historians believe the earliest forms of tea cultivation occurred at Buddhist temples in the mountains that surround the West Lake, the city's core sightseeing area.

Some even suspect that Longjing was produced by monks centuries ago who knew and explored ways to brew the tea from fresh leaves.

It is also believed that the Japanese tea-making traditions, including Chado, the tea ceremony, were based on and inspired by customs in the Hangzhou temples.

History has it that Japanese monks came to a temple at the city's Jingshan Mountain to learn about Buddhism between 12th and 13th century, when Hangzhou was the capital.

They brought back not only Buddhist learning but also tea culture and a whole tea service set, from which they developed their own.

When shipping began on the Grand Canal connecting Beijing to Hangzhou, tea culture became popular outside of temples and was introduced into ordinary households in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). The canal helped boost the tea trade and made Hangzhou wealthy.

Soon after, tea became a national beverage, and teahouses began sprouting throughout the city. In the Song Dynasty (AD 420-479), the city was already full of teahouses. Teahouses at the time had varying levels of service tailored to different types of consumers, according to historian.

Since then, tea has been closely tied to seasonal events and familial events in Hangzhou. The people there have dining traditions that go with the tea gathering and tea stirring. In marriage ceremonies, betrothal gifts and the dowry are named after tea. Tea is even a part of the Spring Festival sacrifice, whereas liquor is used in other cities.