Huxinting Teahouse, the Oldest Teahouse of historic Shanghai is situated in the heart of the city across the Yuyuan Gardens. This old teahouse is a big pavilion in the middle of a small lake originally built in 1784 in the Qing Dynasty.
It is situated in a very popular part of Shanghai filled with small shops and teahouses teeming with people. The Old Teahouse was the perfect place for Mom and I to relax and escape the heat and the hoards of people outside.
Tea and China are synonymous. They go hand in hand, much like bread and butter or wine and cheese. For more than 4,000 years, tea has been a major part of the Chinese heritage. During the Tang Dynasty, tea was considered the “Drink of the Nation.” I couldn’t wait to actually get to drink some beautiful and fragrant Chinese flower tea while sitting in this lovely teahouse. This was one of the top things on my list of things to do in China.
The ornate exterior is nicely matched by the brightly decorative interior and created a very peaceful ambiance in which we could relax and enjoy a fragrant cup of Chinese tea. Lacquered wood surfaces stretched all around the teahouse, and framed prints adorned virtually all wall and ceiling spaces. The teahouse was filled with red lanterns and tons of natural light streaming in from the panoramic windows that circle the seating area. My mom and I chose a comfy booth next to the windows that offered great views of both the lake and the colorful procession of people outside.
Mom and I had a look through the huge selection of flowering teas and eventually decided on two flavours that intrigued us. The two fragrances we chose were: “National beauty and heavenly fragrance” and “Flowers blossom for riches”.
They brought the fragrant flowering tea in beautiful glass teapots and we got to watch the flower open up as it soaked up the hot water and released its fragrance.
Flowering tea or blooming tea consist each of a bundle of dried tea leaves wrapped around one or more dried flowers. These are made by binding tea leaves and flowers together into a bulb and are then set to dry. When steeped, the bundle expands and unfurls in a process that emulates a blooming flower, while the flowers inside emerge as the centerpiece.
It was very quiet inside so we stayed quite a while just soaking up the atmosphere and trying to work out what the snacks were that had accompanied our tea! The tea came with a selection of cute tea snacks which we think were quail eggs, tofu, and sticky tea cakes.
The tea was not cheap, but the experience alone was worth it. The Old Teahouse definitely figures prominently in the pleasant memories I have of this amazing city.
Janaline's world journey 
I loved this post, thanks for sharing it. I will most definitely be adding it to my ever growing travel list. X P.S. Thanks for the follow on my blog
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You are welcome!! When you make it to Shanghai you should definitely do this, it is such an amazing experience.
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[…] After such a peaceful morning we couldn’t wait to have a cup of lovely Chinese tea in Shanghai’s oldest teahouse. […]
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how i wish to experience like this , and What did that taste?
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It is quite tasty….well each flower gives off a difference fragrance and taste and some taste a bit funny but overall I enjoy the taste and bought myself a couple of different flower tea buds.
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Wow – you can see where you’re walking on the bridge! When we were there it was just bridge crush, so the atmosphere was like shanghai metro at rush hour.
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I am quite glad that we missed that rush. I assume it was due to it being extremely hot that day that there were fever people about.
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Did you get a Chinese Qipao there? It is the best place to get one 🙂
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I saw some beautiful ones that I would have loved to buy but unfortunately our time was quite limited so that will have to wait till next time.
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yeah they are very beautiful indeed:) have fun 🙂
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This was a delight to read. Thank you for havings us to tea!
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Thanks Babsje!! I was so glad that I got to share this lovely tea drinking experience with my mom!!
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You’ll carry that experience and memory for a lifetime!
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I love tea , anytime ,anywhere! 🙂 Loved your pictures and the story. 🙂
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Thanks Archita! You should definitely try some flowering tea then, you can sometimes find some at a Chinese restaurant if you are very lucky!
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I haven’t seen flowering tea at my local Chinese restaurant. But, I started searching it after reading post.
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It sounds like a lovely experience and such beautiful pictures as well. I guess the flower and fruit teabags I get from our local supermarket don’t come into the same category.
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Thanks Chrisstov! I think they might end up tasting the same but visually having tea with a flower unfolding is such a great experience!
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Your photos are great! That’s one thing I missed when I was in China – flowering tea! Guess I have to go back. 😉
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Thank you! You will definitely have to visit a tea house and have some fragrant flowering tea next time you are in China!
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Looks fascinating!!
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Thanks! It was a wonderful experience.
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Beautiful photos! I thought these flowering tea smelled wonderful. Beautiful smiles 🙂
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Thanks Amy! They do smell very fragrant!
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Very fascinating and you do not tell if it was an experience – your lovely smile reveals you – excellent captured photos and story… 🙂
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Thank you for that lovely comment. t was an amazing experience and luckily my mom was with and able to capture the moment for me!
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Wow! I’d love to do that Janaline. You’ve had some wonderful experiences. Marie
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Thanks Marie! If you ever get the chance ytou should definitely try it. Watching the flower unfold and release their aroma is such a special experience.
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What a treat!
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It was definitely a fabulous experience and I will always associate Shanghai with Flowering Tea!
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I did this too!! My friend was moving to Shanghai and I went with him to help him find an apartment. We of course had to check out the sights, and I had read about this teahouse in our guide book. It was such a cool experience. 🙂
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Glad you did it Amy, it is definitely something special to do while in Shanghai!
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This sounds awesome!
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It is absolutely fabulous and such a fun way to learn a bit about the Chinese culture.
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how fascinating to watch the flowers opening in the teapots … I can imagine the delicate fragrance by your delighted faces 🙂
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Watching the flowers unfold is a big part of the fun and yes, the tea smelled and tasted as good as the flower looked!
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your trip is amazing janaline!!!
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What a great experience!
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Thank you it was an amazing experience and all the more special because I got to share it with my mom!
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It’s these little pleasures ( a cup o’ tea) that makes journeys wonderful.. What a beautiful place and that pot of tea is so pretty!
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I agree! This is such a special experience and the memory of it will always be with me!
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I have never seen such a presentation of a cup of tea!!! I agree with you! Must be a real experience! Beautiful !
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It is an amazing experience and getting to do it in such a beautiful setting just added to the magic!
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Amazing post – looks fantastic!!
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Thanks Suzie! Flowering tea is definitely as beautiful as it tastes!!
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Oh! On the list for the next visit, for sure! Drinking tea is one of the great pleasures of, well, anywhere, and some of those definitely look a bit different to what you get at home.
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The whole experience is wonderful, you should definitely have some Flowering Tea if you get the chance!
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