Steam rises from bamboo baskets of shrimp dumplings while three generations share one round table, refilling small cups from one pot. Morning tea here, called yum cha, is where families catch up, old friends trade news and business gets settled between bites. The tea is almost an excuse.
Beyond the teahouses, the roof ridges of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall are crowded with ceramic opera figures, and banyan trees shade the old avenues of Shamian Island. After dark the Canton Tower glows over the Pearl River. Summers are long, hot and rainy, while autumn brings drier, milder days. A Local Friend can bring you into their own neighborhood, to the corner teahouse where the staff already know their order.
