We were fortunate to have many non-tourist-track adventures on the trip. One was a visit to the home of Auntie Wang. She and her entire family welcomed us into their home for a cooking class and then a feast of our products.

Dumpling Making

Following the meal, she shared the story of how they had begun a move to their new home. We were invited for tea. Imagine the entire busload of us filling their new apartment. The tea was wonderful and generous. The pots were never empty and the selection diverse. The birds in bamboo cages sang from the terrace as we sipped the afternoon away.

We had heard about the kindness and generosity of the Chinese people. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to experience it for myself.  Auntie Wang and her family made sure that the translators told us all to contact her on a return visit.

Auntie Wang & Grandson

I’m not sure that I had thought much about a second trip to China before that time. With so many other places in the world to visit – so many tea places to explore – it hadn’t occurred to me to return. But probably from that day throughout the rest of the tour, I started my mental notes. There were things I would want to do on my next trip. I’ve traveled enough to know that I will not be able to return to every one of my world-favorites.

A return trip to China is a must.

It’s about the tea, of course. But I believe I would want to return even if the passion for the leaf didn’t issue the call. And before I return, I will work more on my language. And I will study some more Tai Chi.

Tai Chi Lesson

We had one class in a magnificent city park. Should the video of the event emerge, it will be hilarious. They positioned us close to one of the experienced teachers so that we could follow the movements. And the best thing I can say is that none of us fell. For that, I am also grateful.

Tai Chi Teachers and Students

What does Tai Chi have to do with tea?

I decided that there is a purposeful elegance about both. And I have a theory that practicing Tai Chi will help me develop my style of serving tea with a Gaiwan. And, in turn, feeling that I can serve tea gracefully in several different cultural styles will me feel more comfortable in other areas of serving and teaching tea.

The phrase I found we used most often is xiexie. It means thank-you. And I don’t think I said it nearly enough.

On The Great Wall

Nǐ hǎo (Hello)

As you may have noticed, I couldn’t maintain regular blogs during the World Tea Tour of China. There were three reasons.

1.   Limited internet access and blocks on blogging and social networking sites.

2.  Not enough time. The schedule was far more intense than I had imagined. Our Fearless Leader, Dan Robertson, filled each day – early morning until late night.

3.  I may have become a bit ‘tea intoxicated‘. In fact, I confess that it was one of my personal goals for the trip. But I wouldn’t have been able to express it on the first half of the trip.

Actually, I have a much different perspective on the entire trip – even why I went.

But first, I’ll start with my first real adventure. It’s actually before I had my first cup of tea in China. (See previous post.)

I arrived in the new terminal, T-3, at what is now the World’s Biggest Airport . . . at 4 AM. This is not the time you usually notice much about architecture. Also, I had left home at 5 PM on Sunday afternoon, driven to Sacramento, CA to catch a flight to LA where I waited to catch my China Air flight – at 2 AM. Then there were 12 hours of uninterrupted seat thumping from the children in the seats behind me. My attempt to communicate brought a cup of something sticky poured over me – a little shower of cold soda.

Beijing Airport, Terminal 3, The Largest Airport in the World with the new international terminal build for the Olympics

But even in this state of exhaustion, I was amazed by my first view of China. Dan had suggested that I wait here until the rest of the group arrived. And had there been anything open at 4 AM, I might have chosen that option.

On the other hand, I had come to China seeking tea and adventure. There was no tea on the horizon, so I made my way down to the taxi stands for the adventure.

There were four taxis in line and I held out the hotel information. How much? I had been told how much it should cost. The four cabbies in line all wanted more than double that amount. The only other person hanging around this area a 4:30 AM was a nice young man who actually spoke some English and smiled at my few phrases of Chinese. He offered to drive me to my hotel for exactly the amount I had been told.

“Where is your cab?” I asked.

“Over there.” He pointed to the garage. “They don’t want to take you because there’s a big flight coming in soon. They want to go to the big hotels. Yours is in the old part of the city. And you are just one person.”

He produced ID and some very official looking documents but they could have been his city bus pass and grocery discount coupon for all I knew. But what he was saying made sense. And I desperately wanted to shower and change clothes and sleep.

“Can I trust you?” I asked, laughing because it was such a ridiculous way to begin.

“Of course, I’m a very careful driver. And I have air conditioning.” Even at this early hour in Beijing, this was a winning factor.

So, despite Dan’s stern warnings, and everything my mother taught me, I accepted the ride. Also, in hind site, I strongly suggest you not do this. And I’m very grateful that my little risk worked out well. It could have gone wrong in so many ways. But we left the airport just before dawn and drove through Beijing before the traffic clogged the roads. The driver and I chatted like instant friends for a half hour.

“Why did you come to China?”

“I’m writing a book. A book for children.”

“About China?”

“Yes. And about tea.”

So, he shared his thoughts on tea and life in Beijing and American tourists and asked about the US and corrected my pronunciation of a few phrases. I learned later that Beijingers add an extra bit of ‘r’.

Beijing Grandview Garden Hotel

He delivered me safely to my hotel. It was in the older part of Beijing, next to a lovely park. It was actually very close to many of the famous tourist sites.

“What should I tell the children in the U.S. about people who live in Beijing?”

“Tell them that we are very nice.”

After three weeks in China, one of the strongest images I brought back is that people were extremely nice. We spent most of the time in places where there were not as many tourists and we clearly stood out in the crowd. People stared. And then they smiled.

As I shook hands with the cab driver, he offered one last suggestion.

“Maybe, when you write your book about tea, you should have it translated into Chinese. ”

“Do you think that Chinese children would be interested?”

“I think so. Sometimes when you do something every day, you don’t think about what you do. I never thought about all the other people in the world who drink tea. I think it might be very important.”

In that moment, he summed up the purpose of my trip to China.

“And what do you want the people in China to know about the U.S.?”

“That we are not so different.” Over the next three weeks, I learned how much this is true and ways in which it is not.

But  there was always tea!

My First Cup of Tea In China

No airport photos. No beautiful hotel staircases. No streets crowded with bicycles. The first photo I offer is the organic green tea I had at our hotel.

Of course, the aiport photo would have been stunningly beautiful. The new international terminal is remarkable. And the hotel lobby is lovely and welcoming. It is located in the older part of Bejiing and narrow streets are filled with bicycles and pedestrians.

The hotel is next to a park and on a street with three shops within 2 blocks. It’s perfect.

My Tea Sipper Hat

I did take one tourist quick-shot of the sculpture at the entrance to the park with my new ITSS hat at its feet. Watch for it to show up in a great many photos.

Most of our group is here and are sleeping.

Tomorrow morning is the Great Wall, a tour of the Summer Palace, a cloisonne factory, a Bejiing Duck dinner and a Kung Fu Spectacular.

And tea!

I welcome you all to follow the tour and will post as frequently as we have internet access. That will certainly be for the next 3 days.

I have discovered that many of the social networking tools are blocked. This one blog site is the most reliable and available.

It was a perfect day in The City, beautiful and sunny. There was even a free, 2-hour parking space on one of the small side streets. I noted a small irony that the Chinese Consulate was across the street from Japantown rather than Chinatown. But it added to my feeling that San Francisco is one of those extremely international cities; a place where the world comes together.

There was a long line at the door and the room inside was crowded. I had been cautioned to prepare for a wait. I had also been cautioned against mentioning that I’m a writer and was going to China to research my next book. No matter that it was for children’s books about tea. But left to my own devices, I completed the forms. And where it asked for my occupation, I checked the box for “business”.

“What business?” asked the lady behind the glass at the window.

“Tea,” I answered, imagining that she would be very impressed.

“Tea!” She was not impressed. “What is your business with tea?”

“I write about tea.”

[OOPS]

“What is there to say about tea? You boil water. You make tea. You drink tea.” And she shook her head in disbelief and disappeared into the back room, leaving me standing at the window for an uncomfortable length of time.

She returned with instructions and a blank piece of paper that she pushed through the slot under the window.

“You write a letter about your tea books.”

I stepped to the side, obediently, and filled the page. Titles. Synopses. Publisher information. And I pushed it back through the slot.

“Not enough. Write more.” She handed me another blank sheet of paper. “Tell about the places you will go in on your trip to learn about tea.”

I filled another page. She read it quickly.

“You’re going to pick tea! And then you write about it?” She was shocked.

“For children,” I answered.

“Write more.” She provided a third piece of paper. “Write about the story.”

Another piece of paper. “Why do you write about tea?”

Another piece of paper. “Not enough. Write more. Who wants to know so much about tea?”

It was an unusual writing exercise. But she finally accepted my work.

“Come back on Monday.”

I showed her my pre-stamped, self-addressed, tracking numbered return mailer. It matched the ones that visa applicants at the other windows were holding.

“No. You come back. It’s not safe in the mail. Sometimes they are lost. You come back.”

The drive to San Francisco and back is a full day. Two days of driving for my visa.  And worth every drop of gas. I was on my way to China.

That actual tour beings with our rendezvous in Beijing on July 21st. Stay tuned!

• Tea is an international beverage.
• Tea is the 2nd most consumed beverage in the world; second only to water.
• People who are ‘into’ tea are often interested in world travel.
• Cultural values can often be understood by studying their tea traditions.
• The unique qualities of different teas are determined by the agricultural environment.
• We welcome Tea Sippers from everywhere on the globe and ambitiously hope to see Members & Tea Business from other countries join us.

And the list could go on-and-on.

But there is also a personal answer.

Visiting the 1700+ year old tea tree

I’m going to China with Dan Robertson’s tour, World Tea Tours! We rendezvous in Bejiing on July 22nd, spend a few days in the city, then make our way to Inner Mongolia then down to more southern parts of China and some of the most important and sacred tea locations. The photograph on the left is of the group that went on a similar tour in 2004. And Dan has made arrangements for our group to visit the same sacred spot.

The trip has been a plan for researching the continuing series of Emma Lea Books. But I will also be sending reports back to Tea Sippers. Dan promises experiences which only tea devotees would travel the world to share. I’ll be posting commentary here.

Starting now.

With less than 2 months to departure, I’m working on the details.

Pouring over maps: China is the most complex

Practicing phrases: Ni Hao (Hello) & Zai jian (Goodbye)

Deciding what to pack: my passport and sense of adventure

Stay tuned!