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The 2019 “Spring Tea Consumption Statis- ed, maintaining the architectural style of tradi-
tics” released by Taobao, one of the world’s largest tional western Sichuan dwellings.
“Goji soaked in e-commerce platforms, shows that 54% of spring four-leaf fans and stools, while the latter has
The former still greets the guests with its
tea consumers on the platform are people born
thermos”, a joke once after 1985, and young people are gradually replac- welcomed and saw off generations of tea drink-
ers by the light of the sun and moon spilling
ing the elderly as the main consumer group of
used to tease the mid- traditional tea. from the rooftop patio. They used to be like a
hideaway from modern life, with only regular
In our daily lives, we can also find many
dle-aged, eventually modern teahouses in the city, offering high-end customers and the passing years coming through
the door every day. With their appearance in
branding based on traditional Chinese tea ceremo-
can characterize ny culture, or providing photo-worthy venues with movies and TV shows and the spread of infor-
mation on the Internet, they are beginning to
stunning scenes that rival those in movies and
millennials as they television. But they were never as busy as the have new customers who stop by and travelers
traditional teahouses that have stood on the streets
who come from afar. The film “Crazy Stone”
since our childhood. chose the Jiaotong Teahouse as one of their
have grown up and Rebirth of the Teahouse shooting sites. Pengzhen old teahouse has also
entered the workforce. become an increasingly popular place for young
people to take pictures, thanks to the photos
At the southeast end of Chongqing’s Ji- taken by a couple of photographers.
ulongpo district lies the Jiaotong Teahouse that
opened in 1987. The two-story wooden building The Humane Touch
is the only teahouse in the city that retains the
style of the 1970s and 1980s. Its mottled brick The “humane touch” is one of the most
walls speak of its age. Originally a cafeteria and commonly used phrases to describe our nostalgia
bathhouse for the Huangjueping Transportation for life in the olden days, ranging from pricing,
and Handling Company, the building has been atmosphere and environment to the way we
transformed from a living space for families, experience it.
thus making the surrounding residents feel more Different from the new modern teahouses,
intimate. the traditional teahouses represented by the Ji-
The old teahouse in Pengzhen, Shuangliu aotong Teahouse and Pengzhen old teahouse
County, Chengdu, which has a longer history keep the tea prices low. For example, local senior
than the Jiaotong Teahouse, was built on the citizens can drink tea for only 1 Yuan at Peng-
former site of the Goddess of Mercy Pavilion at zhen old teahouse, and tourists who visit for
Photo / Jason Leung
the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located along photo-taking are only charged with 10 Yuan. The
the banks of the Yangliu River in Pengzhen, with most expensive tea at Jiaotong Teahouse is black
Fresh Party in the Teahouse its legendary stories of the old house which tea and bamboo leaf green tea, at only 8 Yuan a
survived the fire more than a hundred years ago bowl. Compared to teahouses that charge hun-
A few years ago, we used to see editorials and all the worship and love from generations dreds for a pot of tea and tens for a refill, the
saying that tea was for old people and coffee was of local residents. Since the new century, Peng- profits of old teahouses are as meager as an ant
for young people. However, when the new-style zhen old teahouse has not been much renovat- looking up to an elephant.
tea drinks in the form of milk tea has become so
popular like a wave weeping across China and
Chinese around the world, they have shifted
gears and defined traditional tea as an antique
discarded by young people.
However, as social development accelerates
Photo / Billow 926
and various “rich people’s diseases” are gener-
ated, the issue of health is brought up and valued
by mainstream consumers. “Goji soaked in
thermos”, a joke once used to tease the mid-
dle-aged, eventually can characterize millennials
as they have grown up and entered the workforce.

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