42 wanderlust.co.ukSeptember 2019
G
uns,bites,dodgy
bowels–thesearen
mytravelnightmar
WhatIreallyfearis
aLipton’steabagfloatinglimply
inhalfacupoflukewarmwater.
Iadmitit,Icomplain.I’matea
connoisseurwhoknowswhat
makesaperfectbrew–orso
Ithought.ThenIvisitedYixing.
Thislittlecity,neartheformer
ChinesecapitalofNanjing,isw
tea-makingturnsintohighart.
onlyaretheworld’sfinestteasd
here,theyarepreparedandserv
theworld’sfinestdrinkingvesse
madefromcolouredclaysthatare
oundonlyinYixing’sYellowDragon
Mountain.FormanyChinese,
Mingisbling–andYixingteapots
rethecollector’sitemstheycovet.
ventoday,potscraftedbylocal
rtistssuchasmasterceramistGu
ngzhousellforover£1millionat
uctionsinHongKongandBeijing.
Itwasextraordinarytowatchthe
eapotsbeingproduced.Rocksfrom
hemountainarebrokendownover
eeksbyhammersandflowing
aterintofine-grainsands.These
rethencongealedintocoloured
ays–purplezisha,cinnabar-red zhusha, ochre banshanlu –
which are shaped by hand without
a potter’s wheel, using bamboo and
buff alo-horn tools that have changed
little in 500 years. While most of the
pots are still fi red in state-of-the-art
ovens, some are put into 100m-long
dragon kilns, whose design hasn’t
altered over the last 2,000 years.
I spent my fi rst day browsing the
artists’ studios that make up the old
ceramists’ village, set in a medina-
like labyrinth of little alleys that
spreads around a lazy stream. Glass
shelves and cases were lined with
tea-drinking ceramics displayed withAlex Robinson
Learning the intricacies of a Chinese tea ceremony is hard – centuries of tradition go into making
the teapot alone. But i ’ll h l ook on the humble cuppa, as our writer discovered...
Al the tea in China
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