CHONGQING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Chen Anjian, 62, an oil painting teacher at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, has frequented the Chongqing Communications Teahouse for more than 20 years. Founded in 1987, the Communications Teahouse is now the only old teahouse in Chongqing that has kept the style of the 1970s and 80s. It is one of the key cultural landmarks of Chongqing, and visited by many tea lovers every day.
"The Communications Teahouse is the living space of Chongqing people, and strikes foreigners as idiosyncratic," said Chen Anjian. "People of different regions, ages and occupations all contribute to the teahouse culture here, and help liven up the atmosphere."
Therefore, Chen Anjian would often draw inspirations from customers at the teahouse and turn out down-to-earth works of art that also reflect the ethos of the times. He believes that people should not visit the teahouse only for the sake of visiting, but also to identify its cultural significance.
In recent years, the Communications Teahouse has become a popular tourist destination in Chongqing, and Chen Anjian has also become one of the teahouse's cultural ambassadors. Tourists flock here to order a cup of hot tea and feel the essence of old-school Chongqing lifestyle.
Chen Anjian(R) talks with a model posing for a painting session at the Chongqing Communications Teahouse in southwest China's Chongqing, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Chan)
People enjoy their leisure time at the Chongqing Communications Teahouse in southwest China's Chongqing, July 26, 2021. (Photo by Hu Shuangyue/Xinhua)
Chen Anjian(1st R) talks with a model posing for a painting session at the Chongqing Communications Teahouse in southwest China's Chongqing, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Chan)
Chen Anjian(R) talks with a visitor who is invited to join in a painting session at the Chongqing Communications Teahouse in southwest China's Chongqing, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Chan)
People enjoy their leisure time at the Chongqing Communications Teahouse in southwest China's Chongqing, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Chan)
Visitors walk past a wall where Chen Anjian's paintings are shown at the Chongqing Communications Teahouse in southwest China's Chongqing, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Chan)■
