Lao She Tea House began by selling bowls of tea for just ‘two-fen’ in 1979. Yin Shengxi, my father, the founder, loved Chinese folk arts. He struggled to develop and preserve folk arts and established Lao She Tea house in 1988. Although his original purpose was to promote folk arts, now it’s to develop culture with a Beijing flavor, because our name is ‘Lao She Tea House.’ With China’s social and economic development, today foreign visitors make up thirty to forty percent of over two hundred thousand people who come here annually. Developing and promoting China’s folk arts is our main responsibility.

The Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Perez visited here twice. Once when he was Foreign Minister, He walked about thirty minutes from his hotel to get here because it was an Israeli holy day forbidding Jews to ride in vehicles. After dinner, he even ran up to the third floor to see the folk art show. He was very happy and smiled when he realized, he was just in time to see it. Actually we felt very proud that Israel’s foreign minister showed such love and respect for our folk arts.

And THIS is another of the wonderful, bonus, feature attractions that absolutely delight visitors to the teahouse. A chance to see, enjoy and may be, even be a part of a typical, OLD Beijing variety show!.

Chinese magicians have dazzled and been loved by Chinese Emperors for as long as the Emperors have loved drinking tea!…So, just how does this modern day Beijing wizard…take two unsuspecting tourists from their table in the audience, and transplant them, magically, underneath this silk tent…Well I’ll tell you how he does it…very cleverly!

Now the highlight of the evening. It’s what we’ve all been waiting for…an excerpt of exciting and colorful Beijing Opera!

If you’re a tea lover like me I know you’re really going to enjoy this tour of Tea Houses around China. 1500 kms south east of Beijing brings us to the historically important Maritime Silk Road seaport of Quangzhou….

It’s one of the biggest cities in Fujian Province and a great place to let your taste buds discover, why Fujian’s favorite WULONG tea is so remarkable AND so very popular!

First you’ve got to get a little bit off the “beaten track,” and of course walking is the ONLY way to go to uncover the wealth of Quanzhou’s distinct and totally different Tea Houses…Obviously though, going out for Wulong tea is not just for tasting and drinking, delicious as it is. There’s much more to the whole “Tea Experience” that’s a part of everybody’s lifestyle, here in Quanzhou.

Then, to my amazement, hidden in a dark and narrow lane, I discovered, the oldest Tea House in Quanzhou! Known by it’s name above the door, as the “GU LA” teahouse…Come on in and…er…watch the step!

The interior here is a feast for the eye. Festooned, built-in and located everywhere are artifacts and relics from many, even older, tea houses that have all long since disappeared. Quangzou, was once the richest and most important harbor in the Orient. Here merchants, mariners and foreign envoys came to trade and pay tribute to the Emperor. Today, the spirit of many of this fabulous old seaport city’s tearooms lives on, here at GU LA! …In the structures, beams, parts of walls,… inlaid and black lacquered doors…lanterns…historic old tiles beneath our feet…AND in the furniture…old, authentic bamboo tables and chairs…All this, in homage and tribute to the glory of Fujian’s zesty yellow elixir…, delightfully, delicious Wulong Tea who’s secret is that its leaves are partially oxidized and thus become partially fermented…For me, Wulong Tea is ‘the rare, fine cognac’ of top quality teas!

This is the real thing. I’ve never experienced anything like it anywhere else. People come here and it’s a wonderful opportunity to really experience what the tea culture is all about.

Now, just take a listen to this wonderful old man! The more I discover, the more I discover that there’s surprisingly so much more to discover about the Tea Culture…But to be perfectly honest I don’t understand a word of this old traditional story teller’s “Tall Tales…”

Since ancient times, among the many entertainments and activities enjoyed by patrons of tea houses…the art of the story teller and story telling has spellbound audiences for generations…

So, may be you’re asking…”why can’t I understand what he’s saying?”

Well, to let you into a little secret, none of us on the crew can… because, if you listen carefully, you’ll hear he’s actually speaking the local, old dialect, of Quanzhou...Now this is the city of Chengdu, capital of Sechuan Province, the most densely populated province in all of China. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, they used to say, Chengdu had more tea Houses than Sunny Days of the Year!

Now, just seeing this great statue of Chairman Moa, reminds me of one of his famous sayings…”Serve the people, heart and soul.” Well, if he were to come to Chengdu’s rustically beautiful People’s Park today, I’m sure he’d be delighted to witness the happy scene. Here, though the message is taken just a little differently, every minute, of every hour, of every day, more people are served more tea with more enthusiasm than the “Great Helmsman”, who was him self an ardent tea lover, could have enjoyed in his entire lifetime.