Tea-houses tend to conjure images of musty, hemmed-in rooms overcrowded with shelves of dusty tea tins and jars.
In Théatre, the Shanghai-based Sò Studio has, with consummate ease, ditched all the tired old tropes to conceive, instead, a light, pastel-hued cocoon that, if you didn’t notice the pots of tea on tables, you might otherwise mistake for a swish spa.
Tucked away on the fourth floor of Beijing’s tony Wangfu Central mall, the tea house reveals itself like a slow-burn, its façade of frosted glass panels and creamy drapes opening into an elongated room divided by floating planters, Cassina furniture, and curved walls. Pairing pastry chef Lily Zhang’s delicately wrought orange chiffon cake and and cherry mousse tart is a menu of some 70 teas sourced from plantations in Fujian, Yunan and Dimbula.
Somewhat unexpectedly, a bijou bar sits at the far end of the tea house – a particularly thoughtful alternative should you find yourself in need of a drink stronger than an oolong.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
404C
4th floor
East Block
Wangfu Central
269 Wangfujing Street
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designCreativity leaps the screen at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s record-flying roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
The modernist home of musician Imogen Holst gets Grade II listingThe daughter of the composer Gustav Holst lived here from 1964 until her death, during which time the home served a locus for her own composition work, which included assisting Benjamin Britten
-
This fun and free-spirited photography exhibition offers a chromatic view on the world‘Chromotherapia’ at Villa Medici in Rome, explores how we view colour as a way of therapy, and how it has shaped photography over the last century (until 9 June 2025)
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy design
Creativity leaps the screen at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s record-flying roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
China’s Alila Shanghai hotel is a stylish hub of idle tranquillityAlila Shanghai, the brand's first urban resort in Greater China, is a serene bolthole amidst the pulse of the Jing'an district
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
-
Travel back to the Ming dynasty at Beijing’s new Mandarin Oriental hotelMandarin Oriental Qianmen merges traditional culture with contemporary needs in a 600-year-old historical building complex
-
Inside Palazzo Versace Macau, a lavish, mosaic-rich hotelPalazzo Versace Macau, the brand’s first hotel in Asia, continues to preserve Donatella Versace’s swanky hospitality vision
-
Wander Hotel in Beijing is an ideal escape for serene moments of introspectionRenovated by Fon Studio, Wander Hotel adds organic symmetry to the adjacent Great Wall of China
-
'Retreat and recharge' in Yanbai Villa on a secluded Beijing shorelineYanbai Villa wraps guests in quiet luxury, opening its doors on a secluded Beijing shoreline
-
The Karl Lagerfeld Macau hotel oozes opulence conceived by the late designerThe Karl Lagerfeld Macau hotel is a five-star extravaganza at the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort Macau, China, designed by the late fashion mogul and set to open in July 2023
