Sips of Time
Upon entering, this reportedly oldest teahouse in China magically transcends you back in time. Is it the creaky bamboo chairs, sunlight peeking through the cracks in the roof, aged posters of the cultural revolution or the coal heated stove with pots of boiling water that add to the ambience? Clouds of smoke from the boiling water and tobacco pipes, against the morning sunlight, makes it apparent why this place has attracted so many photographers. But it’s the people that gives this place a real charm. The owner wears a backwards baseball cap and earmuffs while energetically moving around greeting customers, refilling vintage flasks with hot water and even giving pointers to the photographers. Then there is the photogenic elderly gentleman sitting at a table next to the window, making pipes and posing for photos. Let’s not forget the local customers that relax sipping a cup of tea in one hand with a pipe or cigarette in the other, while others play cards. Customers are primarily elderly gentlemen that come daily to chat with friends, puffing on their pipes with colorful flasks of hot water on their tables to refill their “bottomless” cups of tea. For 10 yuan (or $1.43 US) you get a large flask of hot water and a porcelain cup with jasmine green tea leaves. Add a large tray of sunflower seeds for 15 yuan ($2.14 US) and you can spends hours there. The teahouse is located in Pengzhen village, an hour’s drive from Chengdu, China.
Note: Asterisk indicates photographic print in exhibit at Downtown Art Center