Tea has long been a popular drink in China. Chinese people love different kinds of tea. Among them, black tea and white tea from Fujian, green tea from Zhejiang and Anhui, and dark tea from Yunnan are some of the favorites.

In the Song Dynasty (960—1279), tea culture reached new heights. The beauty of the Song tea came alive through “dian cha”. Powdered (粉状的) tea was whisked (搅打) with water into soft “clouds”. White tea was often used to make the “clouds” as white as the moonlight. Tea artists used clean water to draw pictures on them with a teaspoon. The way of serving dian cha became a living art. It later influenced Japanese tea culture. Today, more young people are learning and passing it on.

Yunnan’s dark tea, especially Pu’er, got famous because of the Ancient Tea Horse Road. And it won popularity around the world. In 1976, Frenchman Fred Kempler found a new kind of Pu’er from Yunnan in a Hong Kong shop. In the same year, he visited Yunnan, bought nearly two tons, and began to sell “Yunnan Tuocha” in Europe. Since 1986, Yunnan’s Pu’er tuocha has got many prizes at food expos (博览会) in France, America and other countries. Today you can see an old Australian lady holding a cup of tea of sun-dried Pu’er, though she still enjoys her English-style black tea with milk and sugar. Tea is a bridge of friendship among nations and peoples.

Tea is enjoyed timelessly from ancient to modern times. Each cup of dian cha, white as the moonlight, turned tea into art, and art into eternity (永恒). Tea is also loved globally from the east to the west. Each cup of Pu’er, with the smell of sunshine, turns tea into friendship, and friendship into a shared future.