Magic in a bowl

After bidding farewell to Huang, I take a bamboo-raft ride on the Jiuqu (Nine-bend) River that gurgles through a valley beneath Mount Wuyi.

The clear, emerald water reflects a living landscape painting, a poetic embodiment of the region's scenery.

At night, I make my way to an unassuming residential building, where Zhang Zhifeng performs his magic with a gentle turn of a tea bowl. A bold Chinese character fu materializes on the frothy surface, drawing gasps from many other visitors around me.

"This is how Song Dynasty (960-1279) scholars welcomed guests," explains Zhang, an inheritor of the chabaixi or tea painting tradition.

As I settle at his demonstration table, he shares how this Tang-origin art has consumed 40 years of his life.

The journey began in 1983 when he discovered ancient descriptions of tea painting as a student.

"Everyone said it was pointless," he recalls. "But my mentor insisted uncovering lost traditions was our duty."