Drinking tea is an old Chinese tradition, and people in Beijing especially like tea.

There are a myriad of tea stores scattered throughout the city. Old-style chain tea stores such as Zhang Yiyuan and Wu Yutai offer specialized, high quality teas, and areas like Wangfujing and Xidan (two of Beijing's most famous shopping streets) offer standard teas. Tea-lovers have another choice, Maliandao Tea Street.

Located in southwestern Xuanwu District, Maliandao Tea Street is located near the Beijing West Railway Station.

Before 1996 it was a desolate street ignored by most Beijingers, but now the 1, 500 m-long-strip has become the biggest tea market in Beijing and the largest tea distribution center in northern China.

There are almost one thousand tea-stores offering leaves from the largest seven tea producing areas of China. All kinds of tea can be found here and it is popular with both Beijingers and visitors.