TCPE021 - Explore Aqiu Art & Tea Tourism (26.8. 2025)

🍵| Summer is finally here, which is a perfect time for exploring Xishuangbanna Tea Culture! This time, we would like to talk about Aqiu, a self-made photographer from Dai tribe (傣族) and owner of Dai restaurant (Daiwei Canting 傣味餐厅) in Jinghong city (景洪市).

🫖| During the COVID-19 (2020-2022), we met several times with Aqiu and discussed the impact of the pandemic on the tea tourism. We were fascinated by his exceptional photos and his personal attitude towards life in Xishuangbanna during difficult times. Apart from taking photos of people in tribal costumes to raise the awareness about the Xishuangbanna, Aqiu also showed us one of his personal project related to capturing the love between old married couples (a big "taboo" in China, especially for the older generations), who never showed their open feelings to each other.

🖼| In addition, it was Aqiu, who was our official wedding photographer at Youle Tea Mountain (攸乐山) in December 2021 since we like his style and admire his photos. Although we already planned to organize a separate photo exhibition from Aqiu several times to show talented artists from Xishuangbanna, we decided to put his art into deeper tea context, particularly regarding the ongoing development of the tea tourism that rapidly change since the COVID-19 pandemic.

🎎| What are the current trends in the tea tourism in Xishuangbanna? What is so special on Aqiu's photos and other of his projects? How dependent is Jinghong city on tea tourism? During the presentation, we will drink four teas (Damenglong and Youle) and show his work, including our wedding photos and videos that he recorded for us.

🙏| The entrance fee is 500,- CZK. The fee includes a bilingual presentation (EN/CZ) and tasting four teas from Youle and Damenglong. The number of seats is limited. Please, book your seat in advance. Thank you for your attention and we are looking to sharing tea with you at our Tea Chamber!