Global Tea Fair in Shenzhen is the biggest tea fair held in China twice a year in June and December. While the spring 2025 edition is approaching (it will take place on 26-29 June 2025), let’s talk about its last December 2024 edition I had the pleasure to visit. Shenzhen Global Tea Fare is part of a wider series of big tea culture promotion events across China and one of the biggest of its kind in the world. The size of the fair may be somewhat overwhelming for a first-time visitor. Spacious halls of Shenzhen Expo buildings are filled with stalls of tea producers and tea utensils suppliers.
The fair is divided into three main sections, each accommodated in a separate expo hall. The biggest expo hall is dedicated exclusively to tea from China. Hundreds of tea producers are offering their products for sale accompanied by tea tasting.
It is worth noting that the tea for tasting is prepared with due care and gongfu cha style standards are followed. Thus, the tea visitors would taste is brewed by tea professionals in the way considered best for a particular tea type. To brew quality tea one has to use soft water with little minerals present, so the taste of tea is not overshadowed by the taste or smell of hard or chlorine-rich tap water. Organisers of the event ensured the supply of adequate quality water, so the tea could be appreciated without its taste being compromised.
Second section of the fair is dedicated to tea ware and tea utensils craftsmanship. One may find here any kind of tea ware, from small porcelain tea bowls to pieces of furniture for a perfect tea appreciation space.
This elaborate craftsmanship tradition of tea ware making dates back to Song dynasty.
A remarkable part of this “Tea Pavilion Aesthetics” Section is the vast offer of incense. Incense has its prominent place in the Chinese tea expos, because it is part of traditional Chinese and Japanese tea ceremonies. For example, in a Japanese tea ceremony, the guests would enter the tea room or a teahouse filled with the smell of incense.
Third hall is dedicated to clay teapots and international tea heritage. The variety of clay teapots (I’ll call them “Yixing teapots” for convenience) that are on display is indeed mesmerising. Casual visitors as well as seasoned collectors can appreciate and buy pieces ranging from fairly simple and more utilitarian traditional designs to teapots decorated with hand calligraphed poems as well as the most elaborate ones resembling rather miniature clay sculptures than ceramics one could reasonably brew tea with. Noteworthy, truly artisanal Yixing teapot should be entirely handmade. The unique properties of unglazed yet meticulously polished clay and perfect execution of vessel’s form make Yixing teapots especially good for brewing wulong and pu-erh teas while being convenient to handle when it comes to precise control of brewing time.
The hall also hosts national pavilions where tea and other produce are exhibited from countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and India among others. These national stalls give an interesting glimpse into specialties of countries beyond China, for example Taiwanese wulongs and some tea utensils craftsmanship.
The tea fare offers multitude of tea tasting opportunities and showcases teas produced across China and abroad. Visitors to the event may meet tea producers in person and choose a particular tea they like most. As June 2025 edition of the expo is approaching, I recommend visiting Shenzhen for this occasion. Shenzhen is a major mainland China business hub located just a few kilometres across the border with Hong Kong. Thus, it can easily be reached by train from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station to Futian railway station in Shenzhen’s very city centre within a short walk from the expo halls. For more information, please visit tea fair website.
