Zao Cha, or morning tea, is the typical morning activity in the daily life of Canton people . When you waking up in the morning with the singing of the birds, having a cup of tea to refresh breath and oneself, tasting snacks to stimulate a good appetite, it is really a fantastic life! 

By:Yangshangrong 130307212 Class 4

 

Brief introduction

When I Checked the previous photo, i can see a girl was eating the Chicken feet and smiling. Her mouth still covered with brothes. So Hilarious! Yes,that’s me. Maybe it was my first memory about morning tea. As a cantonese, morning tea is not only a diet, moreover it is a special habit for us. Until today,when I go home, my mom will call my aunt and meet together. It is a opportunity to narrow our distance. Sure,to our teenager,we won’t interested in the topic which they talk about,we always taste the delicious food.

Let’s talk about the morning tea. When referring the traditional Canton culture, morning tea culture can not be missed. On the morning of weekends especially some holidays, Cantonese will begin their morning tea activity. Generally, the morning tea will be joined by a whole family or a group of good friends. In Cantonese idea, morning tea is an enjoyable thing which can spend leisure time and relax selves thoroughly.

Thus the name “morning tea”, tea is the necessary part. Morning tea prefers to take the black tea because it functions to warm the stomach and be advantage for digesting. The common tea used in morning tea will be oolong tea, tieguanyin tea, pu ‘er tea. The black tea is in a little bitter taste and not as crystal as the green tea, but it is the golden pair for snacks in morning tea.

Snacks Served in Morning Tea

Actually morning tea refers to dim sum,a Cantonese term referring to small Chinese dishes,accompanied by tea.So having morning tea is also called “eating morning tea”in Guangdong.

There are two kinds of morning tea – the solid ones and the liquid ones. The solid ones can be Chinese dumpling, steamed buns, glutinous food, etc, and the liquid ones can be porridge, guiling jelly, beancurd jelly, etc.

Compared with solid ones and liquid ones, the former ones can be regarded as the highlight of Canton morning tea. For example, the representative – shrimp dumpling (you can find this dish in any restaurant that serves morning tea in Guangdong,and it can be regarded as a simple of authentic Guangdong restraunts). The transparent dumpling wrapper with the shrimp materials inside will bring you a fresh taste. Besides, the egg tart which can be found in some high-end restaurants will let you have an unforgettable feeling when enjoy it.

Origin of morning tea

Morning tea culture now is not only popular in Canton area, but also an oversea trend because of the more and more overseas Chinese. It is easily to find Canton morning tea restaurants in New York or Los Angeles, even in the remote islet in South Pacific Ocean.

When it comes to the source of the Cantonese morning tea,it often dates back to Qing dynasty which can be traced back to more than 150 yeas ago.At that time, there was a simple teashop called “one house”,offering tea and snacks for those seeking refreshment,which had a board with “tea word” on the door. Later on, with the boom of commerce on Guangdong,more and more businessmen needed a place for social activities.Teahouses soon began to emerge and developed gradually into tea restaurants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although with the rapid development of the economy in Guangdong Province,this kind of traditional culture was still excellent maintained,and now it becomes a beautiful scenery line and the great symbol in Cantonese leisure life.
For more information please clip here.

The Chenghuang temple is a Taoist temple, also called Yi temple, which is constructed with many halls such as the grand hall, middle hall, bedroom palace, star gods hall, Yama palace, Xuzhen god hall and so on. The Chenghuang temple covers an area of more than 10,000 square meters. There are two famous gardens inside the temple – West garden (Yu garden) and East garden.

Jiaxi Gu, 111101212, Class 4

Chenghuang Temple is a major yet relatively inactive, Taoist temple in Shanghai. It is located in the area south of Yan’an Road on the Fangbang Zhong Road.

During the Ming Dynasty, Zhangshouyue, the head of Shanghai County, dedicated a temple to the local city god. Since then, the Chenghuang Temple has been destroyed several times and the current temple was built in 1926. During the war of resistance against Japanese invasion during World War II, local merchants built a new Chenghuang Temple in the Foreign Concession (between Lianyun Road and West Jinling Road).

That area is now a high-rise residence building. The “former” temple is known as the Old City God’s Temple. The Old City God’s Temple and the enclose Yuyuan are not only famous tourist sites but also popular shopping attractions. There are boutiques, shops selling local specialties, as well as large jewelry stores, department stores and fabulous local snack restaurants to be found here.

Where to eat?
Chenghuang Temple Snack Street
Located in Huangpu District, the Old Town God Temple Snack Street is about ten minutes’ walk away from the South Bund Area. It is an ideal dining place during your compact sightseeing schedule.

The Old Town God Temple area deserves the name of ‘Shanghai Snack Kingdom’. It is a time-honored and the largest snack street featuring the most famous restaurants and eateries in Shanghai. In accordance with the architectural style of the nearby ancient Yuyuan Garden, restaurants in the Old Town God Temple Snack Street are all constructed following a style of Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In addition, a snack plaza of thousands of square meters is included. You can almost find all the Shanghai snacks here, including Nanxiang Steamed Stuffed Buns, Crab-Yellow Pastries, Fried Stuffed Buns, Chop Rice Cakes, Vegetable Stuffed Buns, and Cream Spiced Beans. Various snacks of other areas in China are also available.

History
Regardless of size, numerous walled cities in antique China had a temple devoted to one or more immortal or god as the spirit or guard of the city.
The City God Shrine in Shanghai, built as the Jinshan God Temple, devoted to the spirit of Jinshan, or “Gold Mountain”, and landmass off the shore of Shanghai. It was rehabilitated to City God Temple in 1403, through the Yongle period of the Ming family.

Throughout the Qing Family, the shrine grew popular. Inhabitants of the ancient city, in addition to areas nearby, visited the holy place to pray for decent, destiny, and peace. The place of worship reached its main extent in the Daoguang period. The admiration of the holy place also extended too many trades that set up in the area, moving the near streets into a busy market.

Travel information
Location: 247 Middle Fangbang Road, Huangpu, Shanghai
Bus Routes: bus 66, 11, 23, 24, 43, 782
Open Hours: 8:30am－16:00pm
Admission Fee: RMB 5
Evaluation: A saying goes like this: one can’t boast that he had been to Shanghai if he did not pay a visit to Chenghuang temple.
Surrounding: There are chenxiang pavilion of the Buddha, Xiaotaoyuan temple of the Islam, Guanyu temple of the Tai, and ruose church of the Catholicism besides the Chenghuang temple in the Yu garden area.
Recommendation Index: ☆☆☆☆
Shanghaihighlights

Although it’s out on the way to the airport, the 798 Art District, a collection of art galleries, boutiques and cafés, is the latest hotspot for the arty crowd. Originally, it was an electronics factory; when that closed down in the 1990s artists moved in and converted the airy, light and, above all, cheap spaces into studios. As the Chinese art market blossomed, galleries followed then shops and cafés. There are exhibition openings every week, and every art form is well represented – though with such a lot of it about, it varies in quality.

Jiaxi Gu, 111101212, Class 4

The 798 Art Zone is an art park is located in Chaoyang District Dashanzi area in the city of Beijing, formerly Beijing third radio equipment factory, construction for the East German Bauhaus style. The 1980’s to 1990’s 798 factory gradually fading, begin from 2002, because the cheap rent, from outside Beijing and surrounding Beijing artists began to gather here, gradually formed an art community. Some famous people such as Hong Huang, Jonathan Lee also successively in. And there are a lot of foreigners visit. Since 2004 has been two “Beijing Dashanzi international art festival”. Become one of the cultural landmarks in Beijing. There are also new three scenic spots in Beijing “the Great Wall, the Imperial Palace, 798”.

What should we do first?
At the beginning of that you can buy a map which could collect the seals in this area, also comprehend about the district in our brain, that would scanning the whole panorama into our mind, don’t worry get lost. At the same time, we must buy a bottle of water at first, while a bit expansive inside, prepared all this, so start visiting!

Map of this district?
The first sight, on the map, road which in this area named by figure, such as 706、707、718、751、797and 798, both side stores are opening, in front of that oddly shaped sculptures are, whatever, how bizarre they are, which reflect what contemporary art is, it is the conception of modern.

Private recommendation
As an art district, commonly there are many exhibition and galleries here; The Enjoy Museum of Art is one of my favorite, it covers a total area of 2600 square meters. Its designing is based on 798 old factories’ style, but it gives out a tidy, elegant, modern space feel as well.

The main exhibition hall, various artistic thematic forums and large gatherings are held on a regular basis: symposiums, concerts, fashion shows, theater performances, auctions, press conferences for new cars, fashion and luxury products, opening receptions, and other commercial activities.

Art club contains three floors. It includes an Arts and Literature Association, Art Dealers Association, VIP Club for high-end customers, multi-purpose hall, indoor café and casual outdoor café–suitable for mid to small-size seminars and exchange activities. Catering services offering both Western and Chinese cuisine are available for large, medium or small gatherings, press conferences, or opening receptions.

Investigation: People in which country visit?
In a recent investigation, more than 30 countries are visit here which from French, American, Germany, Canada, Britain and Australia, most of them are from the developed country, and French is majority about 19.3%, the second is American about 15.7%.46% are from Europe, North America about 23.7%, 18% people are from Asia.

The literacy level of people, people who highly-educated the percentage about 91.4%, especially Master-or-above about 18%

Which artistic form arresting people to come? The answer is painting, the percentage is 37.2%, others is photograph (28.9%), sculpture (19.7%), design (7.3%), performance art (5.1%), significantly, whatever, people in-or-out hold the same opinion.

Transportation
Go there we can take subway line 10, and get off at Sanyuan Bridge station, then take a taxi, drivers would know it, because here is well-know to whole world. The other way, by line 13 at south of Dasan Zikou get off by bus 455
Rough Guide