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Tea
Art Halls are elegant venues for tasting rare varieties of tea and
meeting friends.
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| Arts & Crafts |
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Fujianese
are very skilful at tea-brewing, therefore are quite
particular about their tea sets.
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In a country known world-wide for its tea,
Fujian rates as one of China's top provinces when it comes to
this popular beverage. This is not only because Fujian produces
so many famous teas but also because of its well-developed arts
of tea brewing and tea-tasting.
The rolling Wuyi Mountains in Fujian are characterised by their
many strangely shaped peaks, which are usually enveloped in
clouds and fog. One of China's highest grade teas - Wuyi Rock
Tea (Wu Ih Yen Tea) - is produced in these mountains. As early
as the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), this area was established as
a Royal Tea Garden to produce tea to offer as tribute to emperors.
From the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) on, this kind of tea began
to be exported to Europe and America. Today Wuyi Rock Tea, which
is produced in Tongmuguan in Chong'an County, is still an essential
traditional drink of the British royal family. |
Anxi County in
southern Fujian produces another famous tea called Tieguanyin
(Ti
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Tea
experts from South Korea, Japan and Taiwan often come
to Fujian to study Wuyi Rock Tea and put on demonstrations
like this one.
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Kuan Yin), an age-old superior variety of
Oolong Tea. Other well-known varieties include
Bailin Congou Tea, Zhenghe Congou Tea and Tan yang Congou
Tea, all produced on Taimu Mountain in eastern Fujian, Tianshan
Green Tea produced in Ningde County, Qijingtang Green Tea produced
in Luoyuan County, and jasmine tea (a favourite with people
in northern China) produced in the surrounding areas of Fuzhou
City.
The coastal Sanjiang (or Three "Jiangs"- Minjiang, Jinjiang
and Jiulongjiang) Plain in the centre of the province is an
alluvial plain, and is both fertile and populous. Since ancient
times, numerous famous personages and scholars have come from
this area. They were generally well off men of leisure, so after
they finished teaching or writing, they would choose a top-quality
tea, brew it with great care and savour it slowly. Over the
generations, their experience in mastering the secrets of tea
brewing was passed down and tea brewing became an art in its
own right.
In tea-brewing, every aspect of the process is essential: the
selection of the tea, the type of water used, the temperature
of the water, the tea set itself and the method of preparation.
In Fuzhou one can visit what are called Tea Art Halls, where
one can choose from a variety of teas and tea sets. In every
hall there are resident tea-brewing masters, who will demonstrate
to customers the different techniques for preparing the various
kinds of tea. In this way one can be assured of getting the
best possible results from their tea, while at the same time
learn about the customs and rituals related to this age-old
tradition. |
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