As coffee is to those in western countries, tea is an indispensable part of Chinese people's lives, and the culture of drinking tea in this country has a long history dating back some 2,000 years. Drinking tea has become a form of artistic and intellectual expression of Chinese culture rich in tradition. Now, let's check out the Taiwan Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo to enjoy the art of tea culture.

Zhang Suluan is the champion of the Tea Ceremony Competition in Lugu village, Nantou County, the hometown of tea in China's Taiwan province. She shares the secrets of how to choose, make and taste tea and the essence of the Tea Spirit.

"Tea originated from the Chinese mainland and the most famous tea in Taiwan is 'Wulong Tea' which comes from Fujian province. Most people in Taiwan like Wulong Tea. As an indispensable part of Taiwan people's life, making a cup of good tea is the best way to receive the guests in Taiwan. Of course when one has time, making a cup of tea to reward oneself is also very common."

"As we know tea is a very popular drink in China and if we choose the right tea in the right season, our health will benefit a lot from drinking the right tea. What kind of tea should we drink in different seasons?"

"People like to drink hot tea in cold weather and cool tea in hot weather. There are two major groups of people drinking tea. One group likes black tea, milk tea and green tea and most people in this group are quite young. The people in the other group are older and they don't like sweet tea so they like to put Wulong Tea into cold water. They like drinking tea made in this way during the summer. While in winter many people like to make a tea ceremony like this."

"What kind of tea is suitable for a tea ceremony and what are the secrets of choosing tea?"

"Tea harvest falls on each season in the year and spring tea and winter tea are considered the best. People can buy tea in the spring and winter and whether the tea is good or not is based on personal preference. The altitude of where the tea is planted determines the taste, and the technique used to process the tea influences the quality of the tea.

Throughout the history of the tea ceremony in Taiwan, people have interjected art with tea hoping to spread the tea spirit into our life. We hope to increase the quality of life through the tea ceremony."

"Thanks! I can't wait to learn more about the tea ceremony! Shall we start now?"