Chengdu, Life with Tea

　　In the past, there were many famous teahouses in Chengdu, such as Ke House, Sui House, Xiao House, Joy House, Miaogao tower, Yingxiao Tower, Zhenjiang Tower, Wangjiang Tower and Shuquan House. Till the Railway Protection Movement, the first choice of water to make tea in Chengdu was the water from the Fu and Nan Rivers, and the second was that from wells. The river water at that time was clean and sweet.

　　The teahouses in Sichuan offer not only tea, but also cigarettes, peanuts, sunflower seeds and boiled water. Some customers take their bird pets and hang their cages while they enjoy tea and listen to them chirping. If they have the interest, they will line the cages and hold a competition of bird singing. Smokers, who often smoke tobacco in a long pipe, lean to the back of chairs, holding their pipes and watching the rising smoke. Sometimes they exchange their tobacco and compare notes with each other. The teahouse is like a small world and the world is manifested in the teahouse. Teahouses in the old time served not only as a recreational place, but also as a meeting place of various people: noble and common people, merchants, even ammunition operators and opium smugglers. Among the busy crowd of two disputing parties, there needed to be a distinguished mediator sitting by the table and trying to settle the disputes. Once an agreement is reached, the bill is paid by the faulty party.

　　There are also many venders, and craftsmen, selling everything from medicines, newspapers, needles and threads, finger foods, root and wood sculptures, jade wares, rare curiosa, and paintings, and providing local music, fortune-telling, massages, shoe polishing, ear picking, and so on.

　　Besides traditional teahouses, a large number of new-style teahouses have appeared recently. They are well furnished and constantly updated. In terms of tea, these new houses serve top grade green tea and scented tea produced in the mainland of China as well as popular overseas black tea which have several colors like yellow, red, white and green, and different scents like wine, flowers and fruits. A variety of Chinese and Western food can also be found in the houses, together with many musical performances of the piano, saxophone, dulcimer, lute, and other instruments. Drinking tea has evolved into a modern entertainment.