Chaozhou, a Gong Fu tea city

a bunch of what look like zisha teapots for sale on the street

While drinking tea is integrated into everyday life all over China, there are some cities that particularly have the spirit and culture of tea humming through it at a higher register and Chaozhou is one of those cities.

Chaozhou city, as you can see a midway point between Hong Kong and Xiamen two major tea trading ports in the 19th century.

Chaozhou on a map, zoomed out

Chaozhou is a major city in Guangdong province famous throughout China for its history and culture particularly for pioneering gong fu tea brewing practice and enjoyment. 

Tea enjoyment and drinking tea together outside is found everywhere around Chaozhou as you can see in a small tea set laid outside on empty patio furniture on the street (below) or the street side vendor selling teapots in the photos above.

scenes like this are common around Chaozhou: tea set ups ready for enjoyment at anytime.

I’ve enjoyed spending some time in Chaozhou many times as a rest stop when traveling to the tea growing and production areas in Phoenix Mountain and the historical tea terroirs in that region.

Not only is it a city that uniquely has evidence of tea enjoyment everywhere, it is also a relatively quiet and laid back place where the pace of life seems slower (by Chinese city standards at least) and the weather is temperate and pleasant. This chill vibe and nice weather of course lends itself to people hanging out on the street and sipping tea together.

guys chilling on the street playing mah jong in Chaozhou

Eating an old school noodle joint that is famous in Chaozhou

A pedal rickshaw on the quiet streets of Chaozhou felt like a scene from a different century in 21st century China.