大慈寺茶馆

The Daci Temple Teahouse sits within a walled complex, marked by low-slung wooden eaves and a courtyard filled with bamboo chairs. This teahouse occupies space once home to a monastery founded in the third century. When the monk Xuanzang ordained here in the seventh century, he studied the Vinaya Pitaka for years before beginning his journey to India. Today, locals occupy the tables daily, drinking jasmine tea while the city moves around the temple walls.