Trip to Guangzhou

Travel logs and questions
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Bok
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Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:29 am

So a business trip to Guangzhou had some happy encounters: our client turned out to be from Chazhou, when he found out that I like tea, he got his friend to accompany me for a stroll in Fangcun tea market, the largest wholesale market for tea in China... for those who haven’t been there, it is almost a whole neighbourhood with almost only tea shops and even the related packaging is sold there.

Needless to say it is a confusing, overwhelming place to be for a tea fan. I did not plan to buy anything as I did not have the proper connections not to be ripped off. Just browsing is difficult as you literally don’t know where to look! Crazy. Was planning to take it in as an experience only.

Nice thing about that place that as it is wholesale, there is not much pressure to buy from the sellers, go in have a few cups and leave, no problem or weird looks. As our friend was from Chaozhou, I thought best to stick to trying those teas. His family has a tea farm themselves, so he definitely knew how to judge the teas and shops. Also helped that they are from the same area.
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Bok
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Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:30 am

First observation: people sell the tea from their own area. Only if you are a local, do the farmers sell to the retailer.

Second observation, everyone smokes. Every shopkeeper had an ash tray on the table.

Third observation: everyone, no matter what they mainly sell, also sell Puerh. Our friend explained that that is where the money is in tea at the moment. So everyone sells at least some.

Fourth observation: with this much tea just next door, at a short trains ride distance, no wonder the tea shops in HK are in decline...
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Bok
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Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:31 am

After a while walking I felt bad for our guide and suggested we call it a day... to what he replied he still wanted me to introduce to another of his fellow Chaozhou-men. And that is how I did in the end still buy some very nice tea for literally a friend’s price! Turns out his friend is a very enthusiastic, passionate tee maker from Phoenix mountain, selling from what I can tell good quality tea. Markedly better than the other Dancongs we tried that day.

Bought a jin of Beitou Yelan Xiang and he gifted me almost another half jin of a Xinrenxiang tea we had, but he had ran out and only kept a little for in the shop use! That kind of thing has never happened to me before in China!

Apparently the two kinds of teas are from a different cultivar, with the Xinrenxiang having a lot smaller leaf size. Both were charcoal roasted and with good Dancong typical endurance.

On a side note, CZ food is also very delicious! Tea is much more present in Guangdong than in other regions, maybe even more so than in Taiwan! Seeing people have gongfu tea outside often, restaurants having proper sets at each table, teashops as ubiquitous as bakeries in France! My only complaint that the tieguanyin served in restaurants is the green sort and not a traditional one as it is in Hongkong.
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Bok
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Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:34 am

All in all, Guangzhou is definitely worth a visit, the Shamian colonial area in particular. Seems easier to navigate than Shanghai, though less westernised.

Food is surprisingly light and not as oily and salty as is often the case in China.

Tea market is an experience, but without guidance too overwhelming and in the end bound to disappoint anyone looking for good tea - unless with dumb luck.
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Sun Apr 28, 2019 12:26 pm

Bok wrote:
Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:34 am
All in all, Guangzhou is definitely worth a visit, the Shamian colonial area in particular. Seems easier to navigate than Shanghai, though less westernised.

Food is surprisingly light and not as oily and salty as is often the case in China.

Tea market is an experience, but without guidance too overwhelming and in the end bound to disappoint anyone looking for good tea - unless with dumb luck.
GZ is the most comfortable of the big 3 cities IMO, not too overwhelming and has done a better job of preserving the local culture. It also feels less segregated than Shanghai and Beijing, with both migrants and foreigners mingling more with locals. Locals tend to be more open-minded, EDIT: probably thanks in part to the connection to HK media, and also to its long history of being an open port, the Cantonese diaspora, etc.

Fangcun is a wonderful stop for tourists. Did you have any of the local food in Liwan district? There are some great places in the area for beef brisket rice noodles, bbq and dim sum.

You're usually safer asking for shu puer or flower tea in a restaurant. Much of the restaurant TGY is truly terrible. The best is to bring your own stuff.
Last edited by mudandleaves on Sun Apr 28, 2019 8:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bok
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Sun Apr 28, 2019 7:40 pm

@mudandleaves yes definitely, I did find the locals much friendlier than in Shanghai or Beijing!

I was really surprised that the food was so good, some even better than their HK cousins’...

I had some local friends advice where to get some local Guangzhou food as well as the aforementioned Chaoshan food, all pretty good! We mostly stayed in the old part of the city, as you say well preserves and bustling with life.

Yep I learned to order Puerh in the restaurant the hard way, I should have known better... green tgy is nauseating brrrr.

If it weren’t for our client basically forcing me to go to Fangcun with his friend, I would have probably skipped it, glad that I didn’t!
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mudandleaves
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Sun Apr 28, 2019 9:15 pm

Bok wrote:
Sun Apr 28, 2019 7:40 pm
mudandleaves yes definitely, I did find the locals much friendlier than in Shanghai or Beijing!

I was really surprised that the food was so good, some even better than their HK cousins’...

I had some local friends advice where to get some local Guangzhou food as well as the aforementioned Chaoshan food, all pretty good! We mostly stayed in the old part of the city, as you say well preserves and bustling with life.

Yep I learned to order Puerh in the restaurant the hard way, I should have known better... green tgy is nauseating brrrr.

If it weren’t for our client basically forcing me to go to Fangcun with his friend, I would have probably skipped it, glad that I didn’t!
GZ is an excellent city for food, whether it's local, from other provinces or even foreign cuisine. I'm sure you must be spoiled in Taiwan too. I only hear wonderful things about the Taipei food scene.
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Bok
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Sun Apr 28, 2019 9:51 pm

mudandleaves wrote:
Sun Apr 28, 2019 9:15 pm
I'm sure you must be spoiled in Taiwan too. I only hear wonderful things about the Taipei food scene.
Taiwan yes! Taipei much less so... in my opinion the worst place for food in the country! Foreign food can be good, but most local stuff is really terrible compared to the rest of the country.
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Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:26 pm

Bok thanks for sharing your visit to Guangzhou, makes me hungry. Not knowing anything about the Fangcun tea market, as I read your description I imagined it being a small picturesque village dedicated to tea, to my surprise after googling it I see it is a shopping mall full of tea. Like you I would be overwhelmed without a local guide. I wonder what if any regulations China has in place regarding naming of teas and use of pesticides, and if they are enforced?
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Bok
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Mon Apr 29, 2019 7:56 pm

@Victoria more than that, there are a few shopping malls plus shops and tinier outlets everywhere on both sides of a busy road. It really is a borough of tea and attached things.

I am not aware of any names being protected in general, but I do know that registering a trademark is very difficult in China and takes long. Certain areas enjoy greater protection and control as Wuyishan for example. Food safety is a big issue and generally taken seriously, but is a very large country and some will always get away...
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