Tea ceremony. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Although Nantong does not specialize in growing tea leaves, drinking tea is popular among local residents.

The local tea brand "Yuanchun" was created by Wu Jianling, inheritor of the Yuanchun tea making techniques, who brought them from Dongting Mountain in Suzhou.

Wu has made tea for more than 30 years. To brew a cup of fine tea, he visited many tea masters to learn their tea making techniques and made innovations on their traditional methods.

Biluochun green tea, which originated in Dongting Mountain, is the most popular Yuanchun tea. Wu said that compared with the traditional Biluochun tea, his looks brighter, tastes more refreshing, and has a special fragrance of the flowers.

Another special Yuanchuanhong tea was named the official black tea of the Shanghai International Tea Expo in 2010.

To help tea lovers learn more about traditional Chinese culture from enjoying tea drinking, Wu and his wife has operated a tea ceremony training center and over the past five years have cultivated 174 professionals.

The couple is also pursuing common development with other traditional Chinese masters such as those of guqin and calligraphy, hoping to contribute to the further development of outstanding Chinese culture.