Tea by the Water amid Holiday Quiet

Photos

The story

During the National Day holiday in Bashang, a highland area in northern China, some people were singing, some were fishing, and we were drinking tea here. By the water it was quiet; the singing came and went; fishing rods leaned over the water, and leisure and liveliness sat close together. Not far away, a local farmer drove a pack animal loaded with bamboo baskets, slowly up a steep slope overgrown with weeds and bamboo. This was locals using donkeys to carry sand, preparing to build houses; the shadows of the baskets stretched the days in the mountains long. We sat back at the tea table and watched the lake soften the sounds, leaving only the pauses for tea.

We set the tea table beside the carved railing of a stone bridge. In the glass cups, the amber tea reflected the distant green mountains. Beyond the railing the water opened wide, and the stone bridge's carvings cast fine shadows at the edge. On the far bank, green mountains layered one behind another; faint windmills on the ridge stood still. The wind was light, the tea still steamed, and we held our cups and drank slowly. Drinking tea and enjoying the view—how pleasant. There was no need for many words; our eyes had already taken in the scenery for us. The water in the pot was still warm, and our hearts, too, seemed lightened by the lake and mountains.