Sichuan Tea Art Shines at WorldSkills

    2026-09-23 11:47:30 by Queenie Tan

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    On the afternoon of September 21, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, Xiang Chun performed at the "One Province, One Skill" showcase during the 48th WorldSkills Competition. With a flick of her wrist, she spun a copper kettle, sending a stream of hot water arcing gracefully into a covered tea bowl without spilling a single drop.

    As a pioneer of women's long-spout kettle tea artistry in China, Xiang has devoted 17 years to mastering the craft. In her early training, she imitated male performers, enduring blisters on both hands and bruises across her body. She later integrated aesthetics such as tea table arrangement and flower arranging to create a distinctive women's long-spout kettle system characterized by being "still as a maiden, swift as a hare", blending strength with grace.

    For this performance, she selected five signature movements paired with jasmine tea, a favorite among Sichuan residents, to present the unique charm of covered-bowl tea.

    To date, Xiang has trained more than 400 students, establishing pathways for learning, employment, and entrepreneurship through school-enterprise cooperation. Many young people have leveraged this skill to win awards at competitions at various levels, earning titles such as Technical Expert or Master Craftsman.

    From a young girl who once watched her teacher perform from the audience with awe, admiring her martial-arts-like kettle artistry, to now standing on the WorldSkills stage, Xiang hopes to use this platform to offer the world an authentic cup of Sichuan covered-bowl tea, promoting traditional craftsmanship onto the international stage and revitalizing it with new vitality.

    【本篇文字部分内容由 AI 辅助写作,特此声明。Please note: the text in this article was created with the help of AI.】