Page 97 - 8Days

my word BY WOFFLES WU

he famous Gardens of a captive market and the financial “Yes, it’s perfect. Thank you
Suzhou I had heard and sustainability of these attractions for bringing us here,” I replied as I
read so much about, can therefore rely solely on domestic settled into my comfortable Ming-
style armchair. “This is what I’ve been
demand. I hoped that the tea house
and the charming old our guide was taking us to would not waiting for this whole trip.”
T buildings and canals of be another victim of the human crush For the next hour or so, all we
this ancient city all quietly receded we had just escaped from. did was drink a variety of lovely
into the distance as we sped away After a 30-minute drive, we teas expertly prepared by a petite
into the Jiangsu countryside. It had arrived at a beautiful little village and polite hostess who came with
not been what I had expected and called Wang Shan and made our the room. She carefully explained
any romantic notions I may have had way to the bamboo forest that it is the characteristsics of the different
about them had now been dispelled. known for. As we walked away from types of teas, whether white, green,
They certainly were awe-inspiring the road where we had alighted red or black, where they came from
and beautiful but the sheer number and onto a path that led us into the and highlighting which had higher
of visitors and the queues we had bamboo forest, it became darker degrees of fermentation. It was
encountered at every attraction and darker even though it was only very educational and I was busy
had spoilt the ambience of these 4pm in the afternoon. A few narrow taking notes as I munched on an
splendid gardens and significantly shafts of sunlight penetrated the assortment of titbits and sour plums
diminished our enjoyment of them. dense canopy of bamboo leaves that that complemented the teas.
Walking on the ordinary streets of towered over us. We started from the lightest
Suzhou outside this historic district, We then followed a zigzag timber yet most perfumed Long Jin tea
sitting at the bus stop to wait for a deck pathway that meandered and gradually worked our way up
bus and mingling with the locals had between the bamboo trees, to the tea for all connoiseurs —
been more enjoyable and a better illuminated magically by lovely vintage Pu-er. These are the teas
representation of local life. lanterns and finally arrived at that being highly fermented can be
kept for decades if stored properly,
and during that time, will evolve
I was startled to see that and change into something more
the 1968 cake I had complex and refined. Like a fine
bottle of Burgundy, aged Pu-er
picked up cost 88,000 RMB. teas are highly prized and can cost
That's a cool $18,000 for a cake ridiculous amounts of money.
On one flank of wall lined by
of old tea! shelves in the main teahouse were
displays of vintage Pu-er teas, each
in their distinctive paper wrappings.
I really should have known better, our destination, the Yi Cui Xian No bigger than a small sized pizza,
having visited other tourist attractions teahouse. It was gorgeous — a I was startled to see that the 1968
in China before and experienced cluster of wood and glass pavilions cake I had picked up cost 88,000
similarly maddening crowds. Why that radiated out from the main RMB. That's a cool $18,000 for a
would Suzhou have been any teahouse, all interconnected by cake of old tea! I quickly put it back
exception? I had endured standing wooden paths and with bamboo just in case I accidentally dropped
in a long queue to get in to see the trees everywhere. More importantly, it and then had to pay for it. I was
Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an and an there were no crowds to spoil the curious to try it but even a small cup
even longer queue to see the pandas peace and tranquility of this beautiful of it would have cost a fortune.
in Chengdu. Although the warriors and spiritual place, and other than Instead we settled on a 1990
were magnificent and the pandas ourselves, there were only a handful Pu-er tea which was still expensive
adorable, the queues were pure of customers. but more affordable. This was the
torture and I would not volunteer to My guide had booked for us one of last tea of the evening. As the
do it again. Considering the number the outlying pavilions which was our hostess poured the tea out into a
of times I have been to China, I have own private tea room. The ceilings glass beaker before transferring
also never once wanted to visit the were impressively high and the mix of this to our individual cups, we could
Great Wall simply because of my wood and glass created a rustic feel see how intensely blackish-brown
intense dislike of huge crowds. that would not have been out of place it was, almost like oxidised engine
The remarkable thing is that in Ubud, Bali. The furnishings were oil. It tasted heavenly though, the
the vast majority of these visitors tastefully elegant and understated. best tea I’ve ever had. Not strong
are not foreign tourists like us but I could see why this was considered and overpowering as I imagined it
domestic ones who come from other one of the 10 best teahouses in all of to be but full of nuances of flavour
parts of the country to marvel at the China. It was also not cheap. with hints of smoke and treacle.
splendour of their own monuments “This is to your liking?” asked my Just thinking about it now makes me
and places of natural beauty. It is guide. salivate.
96 8 DAYS Check out Woffles Wu’s instagram account @woffleswu for photos relating to this weekly column.