Go back three centuries and you’ll see Emperor Qianlong, the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), again visiting south China via the Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou.

His Majesty, disguised in the clothing of an ordinary subject, gets off the boat at the dock of Maiyu Bridge and walks to nearby Xiangji Temple to venerate Buddha, then inspects warehouses next to the canal.

It is said Qianlong went on inspection trips to the south eight times disguised as a commoner, every time by boats traveling the canal and always visiting the three locations once he arrived at Hangzhou.

Fast-forward to the 20th century, when for years in Hangzhou the Grand Canal turned stagnant and smelly, the temple toppled over, and the area of the docks was in ruins because few people used them anymore.

It was not until the late 1990s that the canal was cleaned up and not until the new century that the area along canal was rejuvenated by local government. Today at the Maiyu Dock where the emperor set foot in the city, there’s a huge, three-story boat, the only floating restaurant in Hangzhou. Fuyi Warehouse, one of the warehouses along the canal’s Hangzhou section, is home to several design firms, a cafe and a teahouse, while Xiangji Temple has been rebuilt and crisscrossing roads are now a food district.

Shanghai Daily explores the area, which is increasingly popular and attractive, to see new places that embrace the culture of the Grand Canal, which is continuing its run of over 2,000 years.

Along the canal, where many merchants and laborers congregated, teahouses were a big part of the culture, and today, teahouses are still to be found along the river as good places to enjoy a nice water view and some leisure time.

We will introduce three teahouses that are completely different in style, two on Dadou Road along the canal one inFuyi Warehouse.

Blue Liuli

Blue Liuli, unlike many teahouses in China, is a tea store and teahouse of modern design, with blue-and-white decor. The space, though small, is bright and neat. On the first floor, one whole wall contains tools of tea preparation, and on another wall, blue grids display packaged tea.

Owner Tang Lin worked as a designer previously, then ran a business selling tea tools, and now turns her focus to running the teahouse. In her store, however, she still sells tea tools from Japan, Taiwan and Jingde Town in Jiangxi Province.

The store sells only Chinese black tea (intact dried leaves in cans), mostly grown in southeastern Fujian Province, southern Yunnan Province and Anhui Province in east China, including Pu’er tea, Lapsang souchong, Keemun black tea and Yunnan black tea. For tea fans, large packages of from 500 grams to one kilogram are priced from 60 yuan to 1,000 yuan (US$9.91-165.19), and for black tea beginners, 50g packages of Tang’s own design are good options since they are only 8 yuan to 55 yuan.

If you don’t know what to choose, order a pot and sip it with tea snacks on the second floor — for one customer it’s 38 yuan to 108 yuan — or smell the dry tea and pick a favorite.

On the shelf are delicate tea boxes that make attractive gifts.

Address: 88 Dadou Rd

Tel: (0571) 8800-3930

Weiyu Teahouse

Next door to Blue Liuli, Weiyu Teahouse also sells Chinese black tea, but the place could hardly be more different.

Opened at the end of last year, Weiyu has a traditional antique look and draws the eyes to its facade — two characters, Wei and Yu (meaning “not rain yet”), made of natural wood planks, are framed by dried tree branches on the sides and fresh flowers below. It’s almost an installation artwork.

The wood planks are from old fishing boats, and all the tables in the teahouse are made of planks from old fishing boats. The oldest one, and the thickest one, is 30 centimeters thick and about 300 years old, and it has been placed at the entrance.

The solid woods are very heavy — “the 300-year-old piece took eight people two hours to move from the gate into the hall,” says Li Wei, one of the shareholders of the teahouse.

There are other collectable items in the teahouse, too, including a dozen calligraphies by Buddhist masters (which are not for sale) and amber accessories (which are for sale). Tea for one customer costs from 98 yuan to over 300 yuan, and nuts are offered as snacks. Only one green tea, Longjing, is provided, and black teas include Pu’er tea, Wuyi rock tea, Lapsang souchong and many other kinds.

Address: 92-94 Dadou Rd

Tel: (0571) 8803-8855

Yunhe Academy

Fuyi Warehouse, one of the buildings along the Grand Canal that once stored rice for the whole Zhejiang Province, is now home to design studios and a cafe and Yunhe Academy, also a teahouse.

It is called an “academy” because it combines five traditional Chinese arts — tea art, book/calligraphy art, fine art, qin (Chinese guqin, a plucked seven-string instrument) art and incense art (burning incense).

Drinking tea here runs from 98 yuan per person, and green tea, black tea and white tea are all served. Also, the meal called the Boat Woman Banquet is served, including the daily cuisines that women living on boats on the canal made in the old days.

The dishes are typically mild Hangzhou foods, containing many freshwater specialties, and customers can choose to eat in the teahouse, or on an entertainment boat floating on the Grand Canal if you order one day in advance.

All the “arts” are apparent at the Yunhe Academy. It boasts more than 1,000 books, including many ancient volumes, such as a rare set of threadbare editions of “The Imperial Collection of Four” (“Siku Quanshu”), of which there only 100 in the entire country.

It also looks like an ancient Chinese academy due to its quaint style and layout — there are rooms for reading, art and appreciating music, and of course for tea ceremonies. Tea can be sipped in these rooms and a corridor alongside a lovely garden.

Every weekend, the teahouse invites musicians, artists and dietitians to give classes.

Address: Fuyi Warehouse, No. 8, Xiawan Lane

Tel: (0571) 8819-2266

  Xiangji Yinyu Boutique Hotel(Ïã»ýÒþÓò¾«Æ•¾Æµê)

It’s easy to miss this hotel if you aren’t paying attention. Even if you are looking, the hotel is easy to confuse with an ordinary house.

That’s appropriate since yinyu means “hidden in a field,” and xiangji is a name borrowed from its neighboring Xiangji Temple, though the two are not formally linked.

Many Buddhists come from all around the country to stay at the hotel, which has an unusual zen theme. Incense burning in the hall clues visitors to the zen culture. Inside there is little decoration, save for calligraphy. The place is enveloped in music of the qin and the smell of burning incense.

The rooms are sparsely decorated, yet all have tea tools and incense ceremony tools. Stone, bamboo and wood are the main materials of the interior finish, while small gardens of bamboo and Buddha sculptures dot the establishment.

The hotel focuses on health and makes organic cuisines. Starting next month, it will provide drinking water as well as water for bathing from mountain springs, “a fundamental element for health,” says Ge Baihao, manager of the hotel.

The room price is from 600 yuan to 1000-plus yuan.

Address: 128 Dadou Rd

Tel: (0571) 8837-0666