However, the mainstream of Chengdu's teahouse culture is the "leisure" teahouses that are mostly furnished and tastily decorated in a modern western style. They are usually very spacious, bright, clean and peaceful, enriched with gentle background music, flowers and plants, books and magazines, most of all, good service and reasonable price. That's why they are so popular for business talking, friends and family gathering, etc. Besides various flavors of tea and other soft drink, you can eat melon and sunflower seeds, popcorns, and different kinds of snacks, sometimes even fried rice and noodles! If you want to give a party but nobody is willing to do the washing-up and cleaning up, then going to a teahouse might be a good idea. 20-30 yuan per person and you can relax, drinking, eating, having a nice time for a whole day!

Among hundreds of leisure teahouses in Chengdu, Cai Feng Tang is the one that is worth mentioning. Apparently, there is not much difference between CFT and other teahouses. What really makes it special are the seminars held there once a month. Renowned writers, poets, artists, professiors and scholars are invited to give seminars in CFT. The topics of the seminars are usually chosen and discussed freely by both the lecturers and audiences, covering various categories of the humanities and social sciences, such as literature, art, religion, psychology and pop culture. "The purpose of holding the seminars is merely to provide a place for the public to discuss and communicate freely on what we are all interested in. It is rather my hobby thatn commercial operation." Said Lin Hai, the owner of CFT. The energetic young man is now working for a local Southwest Normal University years ago. "The teahouses in Chengdu are inclined to be places solely for tea drinking, playing mahjong and cards. It's a pity that people are getting more and more indifferent to the cultural and pure spiritual world. Most likely people are so eager to be successful that they mind their own business and immediate advantages. Due to the economy-centered strategy of the nation and government, GDP counts for everything. Having earned enough money to buy houses and cars, we intend to be concerned about our spiritual welfare. That is exactly what a healthy society supposed to do." said Lin Hai.

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