The most practical travel guide for Jiangsu in China

6:32 AM - The Tea Master's Ritual 👃 Mist curls like calligraphy strokes over Slender West Lake as Master Wang rinses his Yixing clay teapet with water from the Fifth Spring. By the time the first tour buses arrive, he'll have already performed this Cha Dao ritual for three decades-worth of mornings, the mineral scent of Biluochun tea leaves mingling with lotus blossoms carried on the breeze. 11:07 AM - The Noodle Alchemist 👅 In Dongguan Street's hidden courtyard, Madame Li's cleaver dances across dough in a percussive symphony. Her "Yangzhou lion head" noodles swell in pork bone broth beneath hanging persimmons - a recipe unchanged since Kangxi Emperor's inspectors demanded second servings. Come noon, office workers will queue past the stone archway, drawn by the siren song of black vinegar and sesame oil. 6:54 PM - The Ink-Stained Dusk 👂 As sunset gilds the Grand Canal's stone banks, retired calligrapher Zhang unfolds his portable desk near W...