The New Tea of the New Fire: Ming Dynasty Tea Culture Exhibition recently launched its digital exhibition, marking the first online exhibition by the China National Tea Museum and the first to focus on Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) tea culture.

The exhibition, a collaborative effort by the China National Tea Museum, Palace Museum, National Library of China, Shanghai Museum, and 13 other cultural institutions, features over 180 items and more than 700 high-definition images. The showcased items include exquisite tea sets, renowned paintings, and ancient books.

The Ming Dynasty was a transformative period for traditional Chinese tea culture. Comprehensive tea treatises from this era incorporated and built upon earlier knowledge, covering tea cultivation, processing, and cultural practices. This period saw the widespread adoption of stir-fried green tea, a practice that continues today. Additionally, late Ming tea trade with Europe laid the foundation for the global tea trade of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The exhibition delves into three core areas of Ming Dynasty tea culture, namely tea science, tea drinking culture, and tea trade and international exchange. It explores topics from tea cultivation and processing to storage, drinking customs, and international trade, highlighting the era's significant contributions to tea culture and its global impact.