The Kaifeng Tea House and Ming Qing Traditional Chinese Wood Furniture Salon was the venue for Double Dragon Alliance’s recent tea tasting and Chinese music evening.
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The Tea House which is situated inside the Shanghai Grand Theatre, houses examples of wood carvings of many traditional figures, like a man-size Buddha and screens, plus beautifully crafted mahogany furniture. Individual booths decorated in traditional Chinese style each hold their own “tea table”, where guests can enjoy delicious high quality teas, whilst relaxing from the hustle and bustle of Shanghai’s fast paced lifestyle.
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The genuinely traditional Chinese ambience added to the atmosphere for the evening and the guests were able to chill out and take it easy, whilst sampling a range of fine teas, from Oolong, Green and Black teas to a delicious Puer tea. The salon’s waitresses also introduced the guests to the different teas and their preparation methods, with information about their numerous health benefits.
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To accompany the relaxing atmosphere of tea drinking, two talented musicians from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, treated the guests to some wonderful performances on the Erhu (two-stringed Chinese violin) and flute.
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Ms Dai, who began practicing the Erhu when she was 8 years old, played several solo performances, including the spirited “Horse Race”, which mimics the excitement of galloping horses and their jockeys at the local festival, as well as more gentle renditions of traditional folk melodies.
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Mr Gao, who is an expert on the flute, first started to play as a very small boy; performed on three different types of flute, the traditional Dizi or horizontal flute, a flute partly formed from a small gourd, in addition to the ‘world’s smallest’ flute, about the size of a little finger, on which he performed the “Bird Song”, which mimics the sound of birds singing.
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The musicians also played several duets which captured the audience’s attention and added tremendously to the whole evening’s relaxing ambience.
With an impromptu dance performance from one of Rose Oliver’s university students, who attended the event to help look after the guests, and provide translation for the “Incense Ceremony” and tea tasting as well as just chat with the guests; the evening proved to be informative, relaxing and enjoyable, and gave everyone the opportunity to just sit back and enjoy a comfortable, pleasant evening with friends, plus experience genuine Chinese culture.
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The evening proved a great success and the guests, from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities enjoyed a very special evening of culture, music, tradition and fun.
Mr Ding, who owns the Tea House, welcomed the guests to visit again and we plan to organize a tasting session dedicated to introducing Puer Tea there, towards the end of this year.