Lin Yut*ng's Art of Loafing was one of the first pieces of Chinese literature I ever sampled. I don't think he was from anywhere near Sichuan but there are many serious students of this art here, whiling away the hours in the tea houses that seem to be on every other street. You can get plain or fancy tea for five to twenty five kuai, and free refills of hot water all afternoon long. You can pay a few kuai more for a deck of cards or a set of ma jiang tiles, and some places serve snacks as well. The outdoor tea houses lend a leisurely quality to a street, similar to a park or green area.
China, while not being a great place for wine, is a fantastic place for tea so I'm trying to develop a tea palate. This glass of maofeng had strong but slightly unbalanced flavour, making me think of cut grass and tomatoes:
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