Most recommended teahouses to experience real sichuan life

China’s leisure city Chengdu has the largest number of teahouses in China, and long taken credit for the most comprehensive ones, showcased in the all kinds of sizes, multifarious designs and layouts, warm and attentive services with authentic tea at different prices, exquisite Chinese tea sets, and various fun and refreshing entertainment originated from Sichuan traditional culture and folk customs and arts.

There’s no better way to experience the quaint and exotic Sichuan tea culture than to follow in the locals’ footsteps to the countless teahouses in Chengdu.  Teahouses are reflective of daily life in Chengdu. They are not only places for tea-drinking but also focal points for locals, who gather there to exchange gossip and slow down.

Here we list some famouse teahouse highly recommended by both locals and foreign tourists.

01. Heming Teahouse

Location: 12 Shaocheng Street People’s Park, Qingyang District, Chengdu

Most "Chengdu top tea houses"lists online mention the Heming teahouse in People's Park. For a long time this teahouse has provided the permanent expats of Chengdu with the romantic atmosphere necessary to fall in love with the city itself.

The only problem with relaxing in People's Park is the long line of people who come to shine your shoes, clean your ears, etc. This is also true of many teahouses in the Wenshu Monastery area.

Because of this slight annoyance try the teahouses in Culture Park. The environment and atmosphere of the teahouses (Zhiji for example) there are much more enjoyable. Also, not too far from Culture Park there is a teahouse tower (Sanhua) next to the river that will give you a very satisfying tranquil riverside experience.

02. Chenjin Teahouse

Location:  Tiexiang Temple, No.699 Tianfu 1st Street, High-tech Zone, Chengdu.

Located by the riverside in the famous Tiexiangsi Water Street in southern Chengdu, Chenjin Teahouse provides an agreeable ambiance for local people and a showcase for visitors to know about the leisurely life in Chengdu.

As Tiexiangsi Water Street is gaining popularity, the outdoor teahouse receives more visitors coming to experience the typical lifestyle of locals.

Wooden tables and bamboo chairs are placed at random in front of a stage, where various performances including Sichuan Opera are sometimes given. The antithetical couplet is hung on the two sides of the stage, with characters meaning "Life Is Long" and "Take It Easy" — a witness of local people's attitude towards life.

The teahouse is named after its owner, Chenjin, who is a tea-lover and a famous photographer. As vice chairman of Sichuan Photographers Association, Chen has published a book called "Sichuan Teahouse", which collects his photos of over a hundred teahouses in and around Chengdu.

03.Shunxing Ancient Teahouse

Location: No. 166, New Bridge Exhibition Center, No. 1 Middle Section of Tianfu Avenue

Shunxing Ancient Teahouse is a country-yard-like restaurant, which is known for its snacks, is also a place to experience a bygone era - drinking tea, having snacks, desserts and Sichuanese dishes and watching face changing performance.

Here you can not only feast on classic Sichuan hotpot and a wide range of Chengdu snacks, sipping some of the best tea in the province, but you can also soak up various cultural performances, like the magical face-changing of Sichuan opera, marvelous fire-spitting show, and interesting tea-pouring tricks.

04. Xiangyuan Teahouse

Location: 66 Wenshuyuan Street, Qingyang District, Chengdu

Another of the city's most popular teahouses is part of Wenshu (God of Wisdom) Monastery, one of China's most active temples, whose venerable courtyards are overlooked by some 400 Buddha statues. The raucous, tree-shaded original courtyard teahouse feels much more authentic than the more elegant, indoor version that has opened up beside it, in which more refined folk sip oolong tea from porcelain cups. The soothing smell of the burning incense fills the air, and the green lush park surrounding the temple grounds helps create a serene mood.

05. Daci Teahouse

Location: Inside Daci Temple, Taikooli, Jinjiang district, Chengdu.

If you ask for the teahouse with the most stories, it must be the teahouse located inside the Daci Temple.

Daci teahouse was a famous teahouse in Chengdu (in China, it is famous, too). The teahouse was built inside the Daci temple. The furnishing style of the teahouse was very Chinese.

Lots of people gather there and some of the old people playing mahjong or playing cards. Drinking tea there is not cheap, but the atmosphere of the monastery is very good, sometimes you also can listen to evensong in Sanskrit by the monks which can let you be in a quiet and relaxing environment.

06.  Guanyinge Old Teahouse

Location: Shuangliu District Mashiba Street near Jiaotong Road 3rd Section

Guanyinege Old Teahouse in Pengzhen county just outside of Chengdu is a century-old tea house that doesn’t seem to have changed with the times. Faded murals of cultural revolution era artwork and slogans adorn the walls and neighborhood seniors camp out with tobacco pipes and sip bottomless cups of tea from sunrise. It's popular with domestic tourists, so it's best to beat the crowds as the local seniors do, and arrive before 7 am.

Sunlight trickles into the room through gaps in its wooden structure and a bright red stained glass cutout of a red star on the roof, hitting the smoke rising from tobacco pipes and the coal-fired stove just right.