Winning blend makes return

Customers watch performances at Laoshe Teahouse. [Photo by Liu Xuan/provided to China Daily]

Zhou Xin, a 26-year-old woman living in Beijing, said: "I'm eager to go to the teahouse because I love drama so much. I think this is a part of Beijing culture and I want to experience it."

Opened in 1988, Laoshe Teahouse has become not just a travel destination in the capital, but a showcase of Chinese culture, especially Beijing-style culture, which attracts visitors.

Laoshe Teahouse has been luckier than the fictional Yutai Teahouse, a place in playwright Lao She's drama Teahouse, which had to close due to revolutionary volatility.

However, 20 years ago, Yin could not have expected the now-thriving teahouse market, as there were only a few visitors, with most of them age 50 or even older.

After China's reform and opening up, various forms of Western entertainment entered the country. This new foreign culture continued to draw Chinese, especially the younger generation, to discos or karaoke lounges, rather than teahouses. Under this Western cultural influence, traditional Chinese culture started to lose its attraction.