Now let's have a look at the four best teahouses in Beijing.
Built in 1988, Lao She Teahouse was named after an artist, Lao She, and his famous theater. This teahouse is full of Beijing's unsophisticated style, with elegant furnishings.
People there can enjoy a splendid performance every day converged with outstanding folk arts, such as operas, folk arts, acrobatics, magic performances and face changing. Meanwhile various kinds of tea, Beijing traditional snacks, Beijing cuisine, and tea parties can be experienced.
Neatly arranged 'Eight Immortals' tables, backrest chairs, palace lanterns hung from the ceiling, wooden tablets with Longjing Oolong tea on the counter, and paintings and calligraphy couplets hung on the wall, make you feel like you have entered an old Beijing folk museum. Advanced booking is needed.
Having a business area of 5,000 square meters, "Sentosa" is a global top 500 high-end tea restaurants. There is Nanyang Exotic Hall and more than 20 VIP rooms with luxurious and warm Chinese, French, British, American, German, Scandinavian, Mediterranean and Southeast Asian styles.
The Oldies Concert Hall on the third floor is filled with a classic Beijing nostalgic style and romantic atmosphere. Famous singers and old Chinese national artists will perform the golden oldies in this concert hall every night. Being intoxicated with the oldies while enjoying some nice tea makes you feel like you are going back in time to the old Shanghai restaurants of the 1930s and 1940s. The environment brings tenderness and sweetness to young couples and happy recollections to old friends.
Tea from home and abroad, and Western style dishes, such as coffee and "abalone", are mainly offered there, as well as Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine.
Located in one of the oldest streets in Beijing, Liuxianguan is a classic Confucian-style teahouse. The shop’s name liuxian means lingering virtue. It was listed as one of the ten most distinctive places in Asia by Times Magazine in 2007, and received US Vice President Biden and his granddaughter in 2013.
Inside the teahouse, over 40 varieties of tea and graceful tea art performances are served. Hundreds of clay teapots, porcelains, and jades collected by the hostess are placed artfully around the teahouse. People there can not only enjoy tea drinking and relaxation, but also soak up the traditional Chinese culture.
Located in the West SOHO area, Deyunshe Sanlitun Theater, with its solemn and elegant style, classical interior decoration, lighting, advanced stage, and central air-conditioning, has a business area of nearly 6,000 square meters, and is divided into two floors.
The stage has a large LED flat screen showing Chinese and English.
The hall can accommodate more than 500 people with antique mahogany tables and chairs in the auditorium. Around the hall are teahouses, snack shops and mouth-watering Beijing snacks which are supplied daily. Visitors can enjoy drinking tea, chatting, and appreciating crosstalk (comedy dialogues). All of the shows have an English translation. It is advisable to book crosstalk tickets in advance.
Our Beijing tours are fully customizable. If you are interested in visiting a teahouse, then a tailored tour can be arranged with a knowledgeable guide and private transport.
See our guide to Chinese Tea. You may also like to read: