Most people who drink matcha assume it is Japanese. In Tongren, a mountain city tucked into southwest China's Guizhou Province, that assumption meets a quiet correction. The tea tradition long associated with Japan can be traced back further to China's Tang and Song dynasties (618-1279).
During the Song Dynasty, a method called diancha, whisking powdered tea into hot water until it turns pale and frothy, was already widespread among monks and scholars.
Gu Lijun, a county-level inheritor of that Song Dynasty tradition, traces the practice back even earlier still, to the Wei and Jin dynasties (220-420). The technique now associated with Japanese tea ceremony, in other words, started in China, centuries before it ever crossed the sea.
Most people who drink matcha assume it is Japanese. In Tongren, a mountain city tucked into southwest China's Guizhou Province, that assumption meets a quiet correction.…
What is it like to spend a day as a beekeeper on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau? At a bee culture and eco-experience park in Shannan, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, a Russian visitor tries the craft firsthand and samples freshly harvested plateau honey — discovering the sweet side of Xizang's high-altitude landscape.…
Located in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, the Potala Palace rises majestically against the plateau sky. Dressed in traditional Tibetan attire, a Russian visitor pauses to take in the breathtaking view of the centuries-old architectural masterpiece, where history and culture meet.…
At an altitude of more than 4,400 meters, Yamdrok Lake in Gonggar County of Shannan City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, looks breathtaking from the air. In this video, a Russian visitor takes to the skies for a paragliding adventure, soaring over the lake's striking shades of blue with clouds seemingly within reach.…
Located at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Qingyi River, Wuhu in east China's Anhui Province has long been shaped by the culture of southern Anhui and built on a solid industrial foundation. As one of China's major industrial cities, Wuhu has undergone a remarkable transformation from traditional manufacturing to emerging modern industries.…
