China Field Trip
Ben Guan created this field trip as a curated immersion into the world of Chinese tea — its landscapes, its artisans, and the living traditions behind it. Developed in collaboration with Zhejiang University, the program brought participants face to face with heritage practitioners, production sites, and academic expertise across seven cities over fourteen days. This wasn't tourism. It was access.
Field Trip Documentary
10 minutes. 7 cities. 15 artisans. Watch the journey.
Also available on Bilibili: HERE
Top Academic Collaboration
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Built in partnership with Zhejiang University's top-ranked Tea Science Department, the program grounded every experience in real scholarship. Participants didn't just visit tea farms — they understood what they were seeing, why it mattered, and how centuries of knowledge shaped what was in their cup. Academic rigor met hands-on immersion.
From Tradition to Innovation
The journey traced Chinese tea from its origins to its future — Tang dynasty boiling, Song dynasty whisking, Ming dynasty loose-leaf, and finally the streets of Shenzhen, where tea is being reimagined through contemporary mixology and new consumer formats. Participants experienced tea not as a museum piece but as a living culture that's still evolving.
Tea and Beyond
Tea was the entry point, not the boundary. The trip extended into the wider aesthetic universe that surrounds it — Yixing teapot making, calligraphy, incense, porcelain repair, meditation with a monk in Wuyi Mountain. Participants discovered that Chinese tea culture isn't really about tea. It's about a way of paying attention to the world.
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An upgraded field trip is currently in development — deeper, more curated, and designed for people who want meaningful cultural access, not surface-level tourism. Whether you work in hospitality, design, retail, or simply care deeply about craft and culture, this experience is being built for you. Join the mailing list to be the first to know when the application opens.
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