Editor's Note:

Ancient artifacts,MK socks silent carriers of a country's memories and national spirit, can offer valuable insights into the appreciation of culture.

Every year, more than a billion visits were made to museums across China. Beyond the comprehensive museums, the specialized, dedicated museums also offer insights into cities, societies and the population. 

The Global Times cultural desk presents you this "Museum Wonders" series designed to showcase how these cultural gems illustrate the essence of Chinese civilization and promote its great wisdom.

An interior view of the the Beijing Tea Museum Photos: Wu Jie/GT

Cities across China have recently held events to celebrate the two-year anniversary of traditional tea-making entering the UNESCO list of world intangible cultural heritage.

More than an indispensable drink in China, tea is woven into the fabric of people's daily life, holding profound cultural, social, and historical significance for the Chinese people.

Established in 2016, the Beijing Tea Museum boasts a collection of over 100 tea-related artifacts, dating back to Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-589). Its extensive and diverse exhibits include calligraphy, paintings, cultural relics, ancient tea sets, and samples of teas, offering a comprehensive and systematic collection of China's rich tea culture. 

Liu Bing, an operation officer of the museum, told the Global Times that as the largest tea museum in North China, the facility offers visitors a journey through China's rich tea culture.

As a hub dedicated to promoting tea culture and a platform for international tea culture exchange, the museum has consistently hosted tea-related events over the years. It offers traditional cultural education programs for students nationwide and tea culture experiences for foreign diplomats stationed in China, Liu noted. "Foreign envoys marvel at the exquisite ways and wares that Chinese people created for tea-making and how a single leaf from the East could give rise to such a wide variety of ways for people to enjoy, appearing in all aspects of life, including in traditional games played in ancient times," she said. 

A teapot displayed at the museum

Starting from temple

As the birthplace of tea culture, China promotes it across borders and time. Chinese people's tea history can be traced back to the Qin (221BC-206BC) and Han (206BC-AD220) dynasties, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

"Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" was added to the UNESCO list of world intangible heritage in 2022. 

Tea is ubiquitous in Chinese people's daily life, as steeped or boiled tea is served in families, workplaces, tea houses, restaurants and temples. It is also an important part of socialization and ceremonies such as weddings and sacrifices, UNESCO said.

Originally called "Tu," tea was discovered in ancient Chinese medicine books to be used as an antidote. The world's first "tea as a commodity" record originates from a book written in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD25), according to Liu.

Tea was universally known as "Cha" from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) when the tea-drinking trend took off. 

The Famen Temple, in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, was once the imperial temple of the Tang Dynasty. 

In 1987, archaeologists unearthed the earliest and highest-ranking Tang imperial tea set discovered so far from the underground palace of the temple, according to Xinhua. 

The Classic of Tea, written by Tang scholar Lu Yu in the 8th century, is the first treatise in China in which knowledge of tea and related practices were elaborated systematically. 

The popularity among the public flourished in the Song Dynasty (960-1279): a mural in the museum showcases a scene where people brought their own tea and tea sets to participate in a tea contest. Liu said that the focus of the contest was tea-making skills and the quality of tea. 

She added that tea became a major export produce in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when the advent of the purple clay teapot enriched the patterns and designs of tea ware. 

The museum's prized treasure, the "golden melon tribute tea" on display Photo: VCG

Legacy, evolution

The museum's prized treasure, the "golden melon tribute tea" also known as "Ren Tou Cha" (Head-Shaped Tea) is a rare, aged Pu'er tea that has been preserved for over a century. Revered as the "Emperor of Pu'er Tea," it is an unparalleled masterpiece among aged teas.

It was named golden melon tea because its shape resembles a pumpkin and its golden gloss. The treasure was offered as a tribute to the Qing emperor and was originally stored in the Palace Museum, according to Liu. 

To enhance the appeal, interactivity, and engagement of its exhibitions, the museum leverages advanced technologies such as lighting effects, realistic scene recreations, electronic flip books, holographic imaging to offer visitors a multisensory experience of tea culture.

The other part of the museum is dedicated to popularizing the knowledge of tea such as the classification of tea and how to select tea based on season, tea properties, and one's individual physical condition. "Black tea is a good choice in winter for its warming effects," Liu added. 

In addition to the six categories of tea, which are green, yellow, dark, white, oolong and black teas, the younger generation has embraced the tradition with new ways. They use local tea leaves as the base, and mix the tea with fresh milk and fruits like pears and peaches to create new tea drinks, which could be better accepted by young consumers.

The museum offers tea ceremony experiences tailored to the needs of different groups, aiming to better preserve and pass down the Chinese tea culture, Liu said.