I'm planning to visit my girlfriend while she is studying in Beijing this summer, and was wondering if there any tea shops I should definitely visit. I'd like to buy some teas that would be unavaliable or far too pricey in the states. Thanks for any suggestions.
I don't think it will be easy to find right thing at a fair price in Beijing, for it is far away from those origin places, the average living cost is much higher than nearby, and neither the price nor the quality is satisfactory. But if you will stay in there more than 15 day, maybe you should try to order some online from origin place, and better with some help from local friends.
I was cheated many times in the main supermarkets in Beijing, try to avoid those. Wangfujing shopping centre have some good stuff, but pricy. Yansha? not sure...
Alternatively, you may find some better tea shops in Tianjin, 1 hour
19 minutes by rail from Beijing (direct). Some places in Tianjin you could get some good stuff: Tianfu Mingcha on Heping Road, good retailer, but a little pricy compare Shuanquan. That area is also the main shopping centre in Tianjin, 10-15 minutes by taxi from the railway station. Shuuanquan Chaguan on Ancient Culture Street, but you need some local friends to guide you, if your aim is tea, your friends better good at that. 10-15 minutes by taxi from the railway station. IF you want to see a proper tea presentation with real folk music show, better go to Pingshan Road, there is a good tea house, forget the name, but it was the only one on that street 2 years ago. 15-30 minutes from Shuangquan. Yangchunyuan on Heping Road is to be avoid!! Also, there is a outdoor sport club on Chende Road, near Haihe river, they serve very good green tea (Biluochun):)haven't been there for 2yrs, things might change, good luck on your journey:)
I remember a "tea street" (chajie) in the south west part of Beijing, where I have been two years ago. Maybe it is in Xuanwu district, but I can't remember exactly where. Most of taxi driver should know it. There are a lot of small shops all along both sides of this street. Prices where definitely lower then those of shops in Wangfujing and other shopping centres. The right place for bargin and making good deals, but also for bitter cheating if you don't know what the real price should be. Apart tea leaves shopping, I think you can spend a couple of afternoons in one of the many tea house that have been opend in Beijing in the last few years. I haven't been in any of them (since I was too busy during my last trip in Beijing), but I felt that there is a strong influence of Taiwanese style "chayiguan" (tea art houses). This at least holds true for Wufu Chayiguan, one of the main chain-store tea houses in Beijing. Livio
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