Tea in Jiading, China

A repost from July 2016:

Last year we spent two weeks in and around Jiading, China – a ‘suburb’ of Shanghai. Our oldest son, Joshua, was living there with his wife, Emma, and we were fortunate enough to visit. A rainy day had given us a break from sightseeing and when it stopped we ventured out. What we stumbled onto ended up being one of my most satisfying and favorite memories.

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When the rain tapered off we ventured out for lunch and ended up exploring the streets and shops in the surrounding area. Our group split up which left my son, Patrick, and I hanging out together. JIading shopping We were wandering around, ambling in and out of the little shops when I spied a sign with a teapot. Loving all things tea, and especially drinking tea in Asia, we went into the shop to see what was what. The shopkeeper seemed excited to see us and began talking. Unfortunately, we had no idea what he was saying. We wanted to ask him questions but were not able to communicate effectively with him.

Between using hand gestures – and speaking super slow (as if that would help) – we found no success asking if his teapots were for sale or just display. We left the shop to find Joshua – who speaks fluent Mandarin-and, upon our return, discovered this gentleman was completely delightful and wanted nothing more than to share his tea while working on his painting and flute-playing.

One of the things I love about staying in less touristy areas is stumbling upon these amazing experiences that you can’t buy with money. It had been a lazy, rainy day calling for a ponytail and no make-up. No matter that I was ultra-casual, our host could have cared less. Discovering this hidden gem and being treated to an absolutely wonderful encounter completely made my day and ended up being a highlight of the trip.

Jiading Tea