National Tea Museum. China National Tea Museum in Hangzhou Photo and description

Hangzhou is a multimillion-dollar Chinese city two hours by train from Shanghai. And he would be an ordinary Chinese millionaire, of which there are many, if not for two “buts”.

First: Hangzhou is incredibly beautiful. And second: Hangzhou is one of the Chinese tea capitals. This is where the famous Longjin tea is produced.

Residents of Hangzhou are proud of their tea. And this is justified. Longjin is one of the most popular and beloved teas throughout China and far beyond its borders. In Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Russia, Europe, England, the States - Longjin is drunk everywhere!

I don't go to Hangzhou often. And always somehow passing through. But this time I decided: “No, that’s it, I’ll linger and spend a whole day or even two here. I'll take a walk."

I knew it was not the season. That in winter tea life freezes. But still, I was very attracted to one place in Hangzhou - the tea museum. I've heard a lot about him. From completely different Chinese. And everyone said the same thing: “If you’re in Hangzhou, be sure to go to the tea museum.”

Well, here I am!)

The Tea Museum is very easy to get to. Everyone here knows him. This is one of the local attractions. You just need to raise your hand, hail a taxi and say to the taxi driver in Chinese: “Tea Museum.” From the city center the journey will take you about twenty minutes.

In our understanding, a museum is some kind of large room with an exhibition inside. Typically boring. With the tea museum in Hangzhou it's the other way around. This is not a room. And not even a building. It's a whole complex. A tea town located on the slope of a mountain. Here we have our own plantations. And a mountain river. And a training center. And a tea library. And several dozen halls for tea ceremonies. Restaurant. And the museum itself. All new. Everything is neat. Well maintained. Trimmed.

When you get here, you think: “Wow, the Chinese, well done!” After all, tea is one of the main traditions of China. And in places like this you clearly understand how carefully the Chinese treat their traditions.

The Hangzhou Tea Museum is dedicated to tea in general. He does not “promote” only Longjin, he talks about tea culture as a whole. There is no less information about Tieguanyin, and about Dahongpao, and about red teas, and about Puerh. It is also interesting that the “School of Tea Culture” is organized in this place. This means that anyone can come here and take courses teaching the intricacies of the tea ceremony. Here you will be taught to understand Chinese teas, distinguish their quality, brew correctly, serve and understand correctly. I don't know exactly how much these courses cost, I didn't ask, but I don't think it's expensive. It is also interesting that this school is also taught in English. So if you want a crash course in Chinese tea culture first hand, look no further than Hangzhou.

There are also rooms for tea ceremonies. They are decorated surprisingly elegantly. Not every teahouse, even the most advanced teahouse, can find such beauty. Practical classes are held in these halls.

The visual aids here are not drawn in pictures - they are presented live. The museum owns several plantations on which all kinds of tea are planted. Students studying here and guests of the museum drink exactly the tea that was collected on their own from these plantations. Well, isn't it great?

The museum exhibition consists of various information stands that tell in detail about certain varieties of Chinese tea. About their features and features. There are letters, photos, and videos.

What is also unusual is that this exhibition is interactive. Each exhibition hall has touch screens that will answer any question you may have. Such big and smart tea “iPads”. The combination of ancient traditions, dating back more than two thousand years, with computer technology looks contrasting and impressive. Here you can see that this museum was invented, planned and brought to life by someone very passionate. And very advanced. I would like to meet such a person.

This is a room that I would like to talk about separately. It presents all the most famous varieties of Chinese tea. And there are many of them. Really a lot. Each variety is placed in a special cavity under glass. And it is illuminated in such a way that visitors can see every leaf. These cavities are built into the walls. It was done stylishly and tastefully. And under each of them there is a speaker that will tell you everything about this tea - “from start to finish.”

Right there, nearby, there are ancient wooden machines on which tea was “twisted” tens and even hundreds of years ago. And next to it are models of modern production lines, which most tea factories and manufactories are now equipped with.

It was not without interest that I learned that, it turns out, pressed tea was previously produced using bamboo. The tea was stuffed into a hollow bamboo stalk, allowed to dry there, and then removed. Like this:

At one of the stands I saw this photo. It was made a hundred years ago. It depicts a sign of a Chinese-Russian tea company. Green tea was supplied to Russia from China even then. And obviously not in parcels of “one kilogram or more.”

The Tea Museum in Hangzhou is not the usual museum gloom. This is an entire tea town, built in the mountains and surrounded by plantations. This is a unique place where you can learn a lot of interesting information about tea. Where you can see, touch and try everything. Where you can just walk among the green tea bushes, breathe the tea air, watch how tea grows, is collected, and processed. Learn how to brew it correctly and beautifully. Touch the most powerful tea culture of China...

“If you're in Hangzhou, be sure to go to the tea museum!” I recommend.

I will be pleased if you leave your comment on this article.

National Tea Museum (Hangzhou, China) - exhibitions, opening hours, address, phone numbers, official website.

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The National Tea Museum, opened in 1991 in Hangzhou, is the only museum in China dedicated to tea culture. The museum's masterfully organized collection tells about the stages of development of tea culture. In addition, the museum conducts a variety of research, the results of which make a huge contribution to the process aimed at preserving the national cultural traditions of China.

The National Tea Museum is surrounded by tea plantations and houses the International Tea Exchange Center and various pavilions housing offices and conference rooms. The museum has six halls dedicated to specific themes: the Hall of Tea Traditions, the Hall of Tea Sets, the Hall dedicated to the Properties of Tea, the Hall of Tea Friendship, the Hall of Kaleidoscopes and the Hall of the History of Tea.

The Friendship Hall of the National Tea Museum in Hangzhou houses memorabilia related to the visits of various famous personalities, rulers of the country and its guests to this unique museum in China.

Since tea appeared in the life of the Chinese and no matter for what purpose it is used, be it medicine or a tea ceremony, it is impossible to do without tea utensils. Over the long history of the development of tea culture, the dishes into which the drink is poured also constantly changed, and the stages of its transformation can be seen in the Hall of Tea Sets. Here you can see dishes made of different materials, different shapes, made using different technologies, dating back to different eras of China. In addition to teapots and cups, the tableware collection includes saucers, spoons and much more, and the variety of materials is amazing: ceramics, gold, silver, tin, copper, jade, lacquered wood, stone, ivory.

Hangzhou Tea Museum / 杭州茶叶博物馆

The Hall of Tea Traditions tells the visitor about interesting details of amazing tea ceremonies, age-old traditions and tea etiquette. Here you can see what tea establishments looked like in various Chinese provinces, how their appearance and the characteristics of tea ceremonies changed over time.

And in the Hall dedicated to the properties of this wonderful drink, you will learn about different ways to store tea in order to better preserve its beneficial properties, about its biological structure, about the real skill that is required to make the perfect tea, with perfect color, aroma and taste.

The Friendship Hall houses memorabilia related to the visits of various famous personalities, rulers of the country and its guests to this unique museum in China.

Museum guests have the opportunity to learn about the stages of tea production in different historical eras in the History Hall, which also houses a large collection of Chinese and imported teas.

And the Kaleidoscope Hall tells about what types of tea exist in the world.

In the exhibition premises, museum guests will find special tables and everything they need for a tea ceremony. Here you can become a participant in a mysterious and ancient action and try different types of tea.

The National Tea Museum is beautiful because it is not just a collection of objects behind glass, but a whole little world that opens its doors to anyone interested in the history and culture of tea drinking, who is fascinated by tea ceremonies and traditions associated with this ancient drink.

Address: Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Longjing Road, 88. Website. Opening hours: daily 8:30-16:30

On International Tea Day, we have compiled a selection of museums that will help you learn more about the history of this popular drink and tea drinking culture in different countries.

It would seem that there should be countless tea museums in China. But the Chinese themselves apparently have a different opinion, otherwise how can they explain that in the homeland of tea there is a single museum of this drink? The Chinese National Tea Museum is located in the city of Hangzhou and displays all the Chinese people’s love for the ancient drink. Many halls and pavilions will tell the story of its opening, the secrets of processing, introduce the varieties and tell about all the intricacies of the tea ceremony. The museum even has a room dedicated to traditional ritual teaware. You can spend hours exploring the exhibition, but it’s even more pleasant to stroll through the tea park located around the museum building, see ponds with goldfish and ask for peace from the famous Luyuan statue.

The Tea and Coffee Museum in London will be a revelation for those who honor the British tradition of tea drinking "5 o" clock. Museum founder Edward Bramah tirelessly ensures that every visitor to his museum learns as much as possible about the brave sailing ships carrying precious cargoes, about what type does the British queen prefer and why real gourmets hate tea bags. In short, a most interesting excursion is guaranteed. The museum is divided into three thematic halls, and in the fourth there is a cozy cafe with a beautiful view of the Thames embankment. The first hall is a coffee room, the second is dedicated to tea. , and the third contains all kinds of teapots, teapots, sets, storage boxes and even Russian samovars. There is also a small shop in the museum where you can buy hundreds of varieties of tea and various tea mixtures, compiled according to secret recipes.

The Green Tea Museum in Korea is dedicated to just one type of tea, called seollok. But how many interesting facts the guides will tell about him! In addition to the rich “biography” of this tea, the visitor will discover the unique tea culture of Korea, including original centuries-old traditions that are not similar to either Japanese or Chinese. There is a beautiful garden around the museum, and when you go up to the upper floors of the museum, do not miss the opportunity to enjoy the view of real tea plantations.

The Hong Kong Tea Ware Museum will not only introduce you to painted antique vessels, but will also allow you to gain very useful practical knowledge. Entire exhibitions are dedicated to methods of brewing tea, including the necessary utensils, equipment for grinding tea leaves, tea samples and step-by-step photos (original brewing instructions). There are more than two dozen such exhibitions in the museum: the English method of brewing, powder brewing, Kong Fu, Mongolian, Tibetan, “massal”, Vietnamese and many others, sometimes the most unexpected.

This museum is located in Hangzhou city (Zhejiang province).

Spread over 4.7 hectares, it opened in April 1991 and is China's only state-owned tea museum. It contains a professionally systematized collection that figuratively represents the stages of development of tea culture. In addition to its exhibition, the museum conducts a number of research programs that make a serious contribution to the protection of the national cultural heritage.

Surrounded by tea plantations and surrounded by greenery, the complex of buildings with a total area of ​​8 thousand square meters is a real center of tea history, culture and science. In addition, on the territory of the museum there is an International Tea Exchange Center and many pavilions that house offices and conference rooms. Nearby in the Center stands a statue of the first Chinese tea researcher, Lu Yu, who, personifying complete peace, smiles and holds a tea cup in his hands.

The museum has six main halls: pre-exhibition, historical, “Favorites”, tea growing, tea utensils and tea traditions.

Pre-exhibition hall.

This room is the first. The hieroglyph for tea on the water panel wall combines movement and calm, symbolizing the long history of Chinese tea culture, as well as the close connection between tea and water: “the exquisite aroma was born thanks to water, without water there would be no tea.”

Hall "Favorites".

For thousands of years, generations of tea artists have accumulated a wealth of experience in growing, collecting and processing tea. This room contains over 300 varieties of all types of the best tea from different places in China.

Historical hall.

Tea is one of the most significant contributions of the country, which was the first to discover and begin to use tea leaves, to the treasury of world civilization. In this room, everything begins with a story about wild tea, discovered, as the Chinese are sure, thousands of years ago by Shen Nong.

Here you can see crude primitive drinking vessels, priceless tea utensils of changing reigning dynasties, and follow the evolution of tea reflected in monographs and poems about it. In addition, in the hall, with the help of animation and staged scenes, in accordance with history, the ways of spreading tea throughout the world are presented.

Tea growing hall.

Starting with Lu Yu’s “Canon of Tea,” tea growing began to spread. In this room, through various tea samples, photographs and commentaries, the historical knowledge accumulated by those who studied the science of planting, harvesting, storing, evaluating tea, as well as various creative activities related to tea, is presented.

Using multimedia, it displays film and video recordings, as well as autographed photographs of Chinese and foreign leaders, government leaders, politicians and cultural figures who visited the museum.

Hall of tea utensils.

A Chinese proverb says: “Good utensils are better than excellent food.” Since tea entered the life of the Chinese, tea accessories have appeared and began to be improved.

In addition to teapots and cups, you can also see tea saucers, jugs, mortars, spoons and the like, ranging from the Neolithic to the present day. The hall displays not only different styles and types of utensils, but also a variety of materials: ceramics, gold-silver, tin, copper, jade, lacquer wood, stone, ivory.

Hall of Tea Traditions

China has a vast territory and a history dating back thousands of years. Different nationalities live in the country. In this regard, traditions and customs are an important component of Chinese culture.

In this hall, with the help of natural or simulated scenes, the customs of drinking Tibetan tea with butter, preparing “fried tea” adopted by the Dai people of Yunnan Province are shown, the appearance and decoration of the Sichuan teahouse, as well as the tea shop of the Anhui merchants during the heyday of the dynasties are restored Ming and Qing.

And one more thing that is important to mention. The Tea Museum in Hangzhou is not just a collection of uninteresting exhibits covered with a thick layer of dust. This is a whole tea town, a unique place where you can get a lot of interesting information and really valuable knowledge, where you can see, touch and try everything, and just walk among the green tea bushes, breathe tea air, watch how tea grows, is collected, processed, learn how to brew it correctly and beautifully and, in general, get in touch with the millennia-old tea culture of China