Guangzhou residents like to "Yum Cha" which literally means "drinking tea," especially morning tea. When they meet in the morning, they usually greet each other with "Have you drunk tea?" Drinking tea has become a habit of Guangzhou residents. By drinking tea, Guangzhou residents mean to drink tea in the teahouse. They not only drink morning tea, afternoon tea and night tea, but also eat pastries with breakfast, spread news, enhance friendships and talk about business. "Yum Cha" is a kind of social activity, and a distinct characteristic of Lingnan culture.

Teahouse

The time-honored teahouse brands in Gangzhou are Taotaoju, Luyvju, Paxiangju, Nanyuan, Beiyuan, Banxi, Datong, Huiru, Sanru, Duoru, Qiaoxin, Dexin, Zhengxin, Fulaiju, Xihuaju, Meizhenju and so on.

Tao Tao Ju Restaurant

The tea drinking tradition can be traced back a hundred years to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In those days, the Cantonese used to go to a nearby teahouse, like the popular "Two-Cent Teahouse," where they needed to pay only two cents for a pot of tea and some simple snacks. The customers were mostly temporary laborers who couldn't afford anything more expensive. By the later Qing period, teahouses in the true sense had emerged in Guangzhou. These were more expensive places offering much better tea with a variety of delicacies. The teahouse had become a retreat for professionals and businessmen as well as the ordinary people.