--- title: 'Living traditions of China' url: 'https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions' markdown: 'https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions.md' lang: en date: '2026-11-03' description: 'How China drinks tea today: Chaozhou gongfu, Taiwanese chayi and chaxi, teahouses in Canton, Chengdu and Beijing, Yunnan roasted tea and Hakka lei cha.' --- # Living traditions of China This is how China still drinks tea: at a low table in a shop, in a noisy teahouse, by the fire pit in a mountain house, and sometimes with a spoon, like soup. ![A clay teapot and cups of oolong on a bamboo tray](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-4f7a508b.webp) Illustration The most intimate of these customs is [Chaozhou gongfu](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/chaozhou-gongfu): a tiny pot, three cups holding 25 to 35 ml each and a charcoal stove. First described in 1801, it has been on a UNESCO list since 2022. After 1971 it grew in Taiwan into the [chayi movement](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/taiwan-chayi), which added the fair cup and the aroma cup to the set, introduced an exam for brewing masters, and in 1990 held the first wuwo gathering, where there is neither host nor guest. Modern [chaxi](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/chaxi) took shape there too: a tea table arranged around one tea and one idea. In 2005 Qiao Musen counted nine elements in it. People go to a [teahouse](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/chaguan) for a seat and some company. In Canton tea comes with dim sum. In Sichuan boiling water is poured from a copper kettle with a spout up to a meter long, and in Beijing, from 1979 on, a bowl of "big bowl tea" cost 2 fen. In the south and southwest, tea turns into food. [The peoples of Yunnan](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/yunnan) roast the leaf in a clay pot by the fire pit and only then pour on boiling water, and the Bai of Dali serve it in three courses. The Hakka grind [lei cha](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/leicha) in a ridged mortar with sesame and peanuts, and the Yao and Dong of Guangxi pound you cha with ginger in a cast-iron pot. In this section - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-270187ab.webp) Chaozhou gongfu 潮州工夫茶 The four treasures, the 21 forms of the 2019 standard, UNESCO listing and everyday tea in Chaoshan, from the first account in 1801. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/chaozhou-gongfu) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-60a7402b.webp) Taiwan: chayi and wuwo 茶藝 Chayi in Taiwan: how the fair cup, the aroma cup and the brewing-master exam grew out of Chaozhou gongfu after 1971, and how a silent wuwo gathering works. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/taiwan-chayi) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-19d24a63.webp) Chaxi 茶席 Chaxi is a tea setting with intent: Qiao Musen’s nine elements, its history from the Song, the Taiwanese school and table sizes in standard T/CTSS 3. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/chaxi) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-64715b42.webp) Teahouses 茶馆 Cantonese yum cha with dim sum, Sichuan teahouses with gaiwan and long spout, Beijing big-bowl tea, Hangzhou storytelling: how a Chinese teahouse works. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/chaguan) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-50aa7d29.webp) Yunnan Bai three-course tea, roasted pot tea, Lisu thunder tea, Dai bamboo tea and Jino tea salad: how the peoples of Yunnan drink tea and how the customs differ. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/yunnan) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-a3114fc2.webp) Lei cha and you cha 擂茶 Hakka lei cha and Yao and Dong you cha: tea pounded in a ridged mortar or beaten in a cast-iron pot with ginger, sesame and peanuts. Tools, recipes, myths. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/leicha) --- ## Navigation - Parent: [Tea traditions of China](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china.md) - Previous: [History of Chinese tea](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/history.md) - Children: - [Chaozhou gongfu cha](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/chaozhou-gongfu.md) - [Taiwanese tea arts: chayi and wuwo](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/taiwan-chayi.md) - [Chaxi: the art of the tea table](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/chaxi.md) - [Chinese teahouses: yum cha, Sichuan and Beijing](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/chaguan.md) - [Tea customs of Yunnan's peoples](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/yunnan.md) - [Lei cha and you cha: pounded and oil teas](https://howtotea.me/traditions/china/living-traditions/leicha.md)