在昆明逛茶市 | Hanging out in the Tea Market in Kunming

As the central hub of Yunnan’s tea industry, Kunming is constantly promoting the upgrading of tea culture. In addition to the traditional old teahouses, tea bars, which are popular among young people, are quietly emerging in the city.

“中国第一茶城”悄然变雅

The Xiongda Tea City, known as “the biggest tea city in China”, has become an icon of Kunming. For a long time, when it came to Xiongda Tea City, people would marvel at its large scale and great variety, without realizing that it was quietly becoming more and more beautiful and elegant.

Today, it has broken free from the traditional tea trading form and become a “tea culture gathering place” of different styles and categories. The artistic tea bars have allowed the concept of “afternoon tea” to really settle in Yunnan and Kunming.

The person in charge of Xiongda Tea City explained that since the beginning of this year, Xiongda Tea City, as a cultural park, has launched its first batch of urban tea bars. With their different themes of afternoon tea, they have attracted many tea lovers and received great attention on social media.

“Add the tea and glutinous rice in the clay pot and bake it. When finished baking, add boiling water and your fragrant glutinous rice tea is ready.” If you click your way to the online shopping mall of Xiongda Tea City, you will find clear instructions on how to make tea, as well as selection guides and purchasing channels. The brand-new Runyuming App has opened up a new online channel for tea sales and tea culture communication.

Ma Mingyang is the chairman of Runyuming, which has built its brand around online tea culture to create new ways to sell tea. According to Ma, “the App enables customers to shop for tea in Xiongda Tea City online, and shares all the resources of tea stores of Xiongda offline.” Since September 2020, relying on the improved tea culture, caravan culture and ethnic minority culture, Xiongda Tea City has also carried out night activities such as iconic leisure tours, famous tea tastings, tea art performances, public tea drinking, iconic foods and cultural performances, so as to promote the economic prosperity at night of the area and its unique shops.

In Maomao Tea Bookstore, you can read books and listen to stories about tea and thoroughly enjoy the vivid tea culture. In Gumingfang Tea Factory of Lingcang, you can sit under a “growing” ancient tea tree and drink tea while watching the traces of moss, lichens and other parasitic plants on the tree trunks to truly taste the meaning of life. The elegant Xiongda Tea City will also launch a small courtyard theater this year, so that everyone can experience the brand-new tea culture brought by one table, one chair and a small snack in front of the courtyard stage.

“御剑窑”点活古代茶艺

At Yujianyao Manshan Collection Mall you can experience the ancient tea art of Diancha. The tea leaves are ground into a fine powder and put into a bowl. Then, the unique tangping is used to pour water oven the tea, creating an extremely fine flow. After continuously whisking the tea with a chaxian, delicate foam emerges on the top. As you bring the cup to your mouth, the fragrance of tea gently flows down your throat, leaving a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth.

For several years, the beautiful Song Dynasty art of Diancha disappeared from the history of Chinese tea. It was thought that it was only something present in ancient poems and paintings, but now, it can be experienced in its truest form in Xiongda Tea City in Panlong District, Kunming.

Zhao Huicheng, the inheritor of Zhao’s Diancha explained, “Diancha requires that we choose appropriate green or white tea, pick it in advance, roast it with fire, wrap it in paper, and crush it into powder to then make the tea foam. Choose a Jianzhan, and pour boiling water very slowly while stirring, so as to make the foam flower like snow. It is not that different to today's latte art.” From time to time, he attends the tea culture exchange at the Yujianyao Manshan collection mall in Xiongda Tea City, where the four arts of decorative painting, Diancha, flower arrangement and incense burning of literati in the Song Dynasty are showcased. In addition, activities related to the Song tea culture, such as tea making, tea research, tea brewing and tea tasting are also available.

Different from other tea shopping malls, it mainly focuses on tea sets and tea culture exchanges. Yujianyao hold tea-drinking activities with different themes for the twenty-four solar terms, allowing people to experience different tea cultures such as the Tang Dynasty’s Jiancha, the Song Dynasty’s Diancha and the Qing Dynasty’s Sanqing tea.

According to the manager, since the start of spring, the interior of the main hall has changed to a characteristic red Chinese style, mainly to promote and display the products of China’s Yongfengyuan porcelain. The theme of the furnishings in the store will be changed once or twice every month, completely changing the feeling of the tea rooms and providing new and exciting tea experiences. Whether drinking tea with a couple of friends or enjoying some quiet alone time, it is easy to immerse yourself in the elegant oriental charm.

“俸字号”诉说冰岛故事

After more than 500 years, Icelandic tea has entered a new era with the relocation of the Old Iceland Village in March 2020. On March 28, 2020, China’s first Icelandic Tea Museum was established in Kunming.

Icelandic tea is a famous representative of pu'er tea in Yunnan. After settling in Xiongda Tea City, the Icelandic Tea Museum and its Icelandic Ancient Tea Tasting Center has brought with them the original Icelandic tea culture. The first pure pu'er tea cake made from leaves of ancient trees in Old Iceland Village is displayed here. The 35.4 million-year-old broad-leaved magnolia fossil shows Yunnan's position as the world's tea source, and the sand table of the Five Villages in Iceland allows customers to clearly understand the difference between ancient tea and Taidi tea. Icelandic tea specimens made by professional institutions and pu'er tea produced in different periods are also displayed.

In addition to making people who come to Yunnan drink a cup of pure, authentic Icelandic tea that can be traced back to the source, the Iceland Tea Museum also spreads tea culture online, from family tea parties to in-depth studies of tea mountain where tea tours are held, so that everyone can fully understand the natural growth environment of tea trees and multi-ethnic cultures.

小茶馆隐于山林

At the beginning of 2022, “Hidden in the Mountain”, a tea bar in the forest, opened beside the footpath of Dongchuan Forest Park in Kunming.

This quadrangle is close to Zhuguo temple and hidden in the mountains and forests. It integrates the oriental life aesthetics with a literary and artistic lifestyle, creating a natural, simple, secluded and quiet environment.

“Zhuguo temple is a place where local people go to pray for blessings every year, and the environment here allows for self-cultivation,” said Ms. Zhao, the manager of the tea bar. For two years she was searching for the perfect place and this is where she found it. The 300-square meter quadrangle used to be a brick house, and after three months of renovation, its roof, doors, windows and interior decoration have taken on a new look. Eventually, her culture bar, integrating tea drinking, reading and leisure, was officially opened.

In winter, the white snow makes the lanterns in the inner courtyard more festive, and the yellow leaves of the ginkgo trees warm the surroundings. In summer, the green trees in the forest park come into your view, and the fish pond next to the yard creates a cool breeze.

Here at “Hidden in the Mountain”, you can have a comfortable rest and a good cup of tea. At night, you can enjoy a sky full of stars in the artistic conception of “while picking asters 'neath the Eastern fence, my gaze upon the Southern mountain rests”. The interior decoration is simple and sweet, with warm wooden furniture, exquisite ceramic tea sets, traditional calligraphy and decorative paintings, and all kinds of tea culture elements.

“I encourage people to return to nature with tea culture. Here, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, we can come very close to our hearts.” Ms. Zhao believes that tea culture has witnessed the development of history. Even as modern people are rushing about in life, more and more people are willing to slow down their pace and explore culture and feelings, an inward, forward exploration tracing back to the source.