The Old Qi Bao Tea House | Fuji GFX50R

the old teahouse by Tewfic El-Sawy on Exposure

It's been quite a while since I last posted here on the blog. This was partly due to my being involved in other activities, and planning for my 2019 travels; particularly the one on which I traveled to Shanghai and its environs.

I was able to work on a number of photographic projects in this magnificent metropolis, which will be posted here.

I will start with The Old Qibao Tea House; a gallery of about a dozen monochromatic photographs made over 4 days in an ancient traditional Chinese teahouse situated in a water town not far from Shanghai's center.

Not only does this gallery document the old style tea house and its regular customers, but also touches on pingtan or pinghua; a ancient storytelling tradition which may survive due to the Chinese government's efforts.

The old and traditional teahouse is almost invisible on the main street that's lined with shops selling local culinary specialties like pig’s trotters, boiled lamb, cakes made of polished glutinous rice, dried bean curd wrapped in lotus leaves, roasted sweet potatoes, rice wine and stinky tofu.

The teahouse features a wooden board at its entrance announcing a traditional pinghua storytelling performance, and the storyteller's name. This genre originated during the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279). The stories are generally traditional romances, and the storytellers impersonate characters in the narration.

Stepping into the teahouse threw me back at least 50 years. Elderly men gossiping, drinking endless cups of tea, at wobbly square tables...a sort of social club for retirees. Mostly male since I only saw 3 women during my hours spent there.

More information on the tea house and the storytelling performances can be seen in the gallery.