Tea is still one of the world's most popular drinks. Last weekend in southeast China, a tea-related activity you don't see every day was performed. Let's take a look at how Chinese emperors liked their tea prepared.

The imperial tea picking ceremony started at 10 o'clock on Sunday morning at the Mengding Mountain in Sichuan's Mingshan County. After a pronouncement by the master of ceremonies, six Buddhist monks made their entrance into the tea garden. Fresh tealeaves were put on a silver platter before being sent to a temple at the foot of the mountain, where they will be baked.

The Mengding Mountain is where people first began to grow tea. In the Tang Dynasty of the eighth century, local tea gardens were ordered to provide tealeaves for the royal family. The tradition lasted over a thousand years, until the end of the Qing Dynasty a century ago.

Sunday's re-enactment of the royal tea picking ceremony is a lead-up to the International Tea Culture and Tourism Festival, which is scheduled to be held in Mingshan County this September.

(CCTV.com March 31, 2004)