Tea is an essential part of the culture of Sichuan, a province in southwest China. Our reporter Tao Yuan takes us to an old teahouse in the provincial capital Chengdu. 

LI QIANG, OWNER GUANYINGE TEAHOUSE "Running the teahouse for me is remembering my childhood. When my mom started working at 16, she worked in a teahouse. I grew up in a teahouse. The grannies and grandpas there used to joke with me. 'You think you can beat me? I'll put you down with just one blow.'

In the past, every street in Chengdu used to have at least two teahouses like this one. Now, there's almost none. That's why I'm still running this teahouse – so that people have a place to go to. Especially the elderly folks. I want to make them feel at home. 

We Sichuan people have a special attachment to tea. A day without hanging out in a teahouse makes us feel strange. People ask us why we come. It's like having meals. Do you ask me why we eat? It's just part of life. Some of these old folks have been drinking tea here for 70 years. People ask - what is happiness? Here, I feel happiness in everyone.

I once took a photograph. A gran and a grandpa are sitting there. The gran wanted to drink some tea. She had a stick in her shaking hands. The grandpa picked up a cup and fed tea to her mouth. I say this is happiness. A cup of strong tea eventually loses its tang. Life is such as well. Everything is changing out there. I want to give the elderly a quiet place to stay. When you're 80 and can't even walk...What else do you need? Only happiness. Life is like a cup of tea, yes!"