Cozy Tea Time
At the point where the road widens, I found Tongjigong, a teahouse dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). An old waiter hummed tunes from the local opera while rhythmically pulling bellows for tea-making. Although busy, he looked to be in his own little world, and when there was a lull in service, he sat quietly next to the earthen stove, looking bored and lonely. The teahouse serves the local specialty Jingweifu, a kind of black tea with a rather pungent taste. Because of its strong flavor, people prefer to spend a leisurely afternoon drinking the tea until its taste mellows.
On a small stage in the front of the teahouse, several elderly men were performing Laoqiang Opera, a traditional folk art in Guanzhong. To the accompaniment of an erhu (a two-stringed Chinese fiddle), they sang in an imposing manner so that even though the lyrics in Guanzhong dialect were hard to understand, I could picture the epic battle scene they were describing.
While customers enjoyed their teatime, a number of masseurs and masseuses wound their way through the tables looking for potential clients. The most popular among them was a stout, middle-aged man dressed in a red, traditional Chinese suit. Those who used his services told me he was a master at soothing the neck and shoulder muscles.
A rather more “no-frills” teahouse is Wang’s behind Tongjigong. It is actually no more than a large, thatched shed. Its folksy environment reminded me of where the heroes gather in the famous novel Outlaws of the Marsh. The young waitresses are dressed in white suits and green aprons. A loudspeaker broadcasts ballads and short stories in Guanzhong dialect. The dialect sounds crisp, creating a convivial atmosphere.
A star storyteller, Old Deng, regularly performs in Wang’s Teahouse. Wearing a pair of reading glasses, a cigarette dangling from his lips, he looked to me like a big shot in old Shanghai. In spite of the fact that I grew up in Guanzhong, I found Old Deng’s strong accent hard to understand so I could only guess he was telling stories about history and famous people.
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