One covered bowl of tea completes a Chengdu day.
In Chengdu teahouses, time moves slower than elsewhere.
Chengdu teahouses sit in parks, by rivers, on old streets. Bamboo chairs, covered-bowl tea, melon seeds and peanuts are the standard. Customers lean back in their chairs, chatting long into the afternoon.
Covered-bowl tea has its rules: lift one corner of the lid, blow across the rim, and the fragrance rises. The tea masters carry long-spouted copper kettles and pour from across the room without a drop spilling — a performance in itself.
Chengdu people call the teahouse their second home. Deal-makers, first dates, chess players and daydreamers all gather here. A cup of tea lasts from morning to night; when it weakens, add water; when you tire, doze off. Chengdu's slowness lives in these bamboo chairs.
