Wu Yu Tai (吴裕泰) is one of China’s oldest surviving commercial tea companies, founded in Beijing in 1887 during the Qing Dynasty, most celebrated for producing jasmine tea (茉莉花茶) — the scented green tea that is historically the quintessential tea of Beijing’s tea-drinking culture — and continuing to operate a network of traditional tea shops in Beijing that serve as living monuments to the city’s centuries-old tea retail history, blending authentic historical character with modern retail management. The company was founded by Wu Xiushao from Anhui Province, following the tradition of Anhui merchants (徽商, Huishang) who dominated the Chinese tea trade during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and its original Gulou Street location in Beijing’s historical hutong neighbourhoods has been associated with the Wu Yu Tai name for over 135 years, making the brand inseparable from the identity of old Beijing (老北京) and the city’s tea culture. Wu Yu Tai has survived the political and commercial transformations of the 20th century — the Republic, the War years, and the People’s Republic — and continues to be recognised as a Zhongguo Laozihao (中国老字号) — a Chinese government designation for time-honoured historic brands with long-standing cultural significance.

In-Depth Explanation

Wu Yu Tai’s significance is both commercial and cultural: as a tea business, it produces and sells high-quality jasmine tea and other Chinese teas; as a cultural institution, it represents the continuity of Beijing’s tea culture through more than a century of social and political change.

Beijing and Jasmine Tea

Jasmine tea (茉莉花茶) is the historical tea of Beijing and northern China — green tea leaves that have been repeatedly scented with fresh jasmine blossoms during the late summer flowering season, creating a tea that has the vegetal freshness of green tea combined with the intense floral fragrance of jasmine. The production of jasmine tea is most closely associated with Fujian Province (the green tea base and jasmine flowers) and with Suzhou in Jiangsu, but its consumption has been most strongly associated with Beijing, where jasmine tea has been the everyday drinking tea for generations of residents.

Wu Yu Tai is synonymous with jasmine tea in Beijing — the brand’s jasmine teas are considered the reference product for this style, and purchasing Wu Yu Tai jasmine tea is part of the cultural experience of visiting Beijing’s historic tea shopping areas.

Zhongguo Laozihao Designation

Zhongguo Laozihao (中国老字号) — translated as “China Time-Honoured Brand” — is a Chinese government designation for businesses with founding histories of at least 50 years, preserved traditional cultural characteristics, and recognised social and economic significance. Wu Yu Tai holds this designation, placing it in a category of heritage commercial institutions that includes well-known brands in tea, traditional medicine, food, and handicrafts.

The designation has commercial as well as cultural significance: it marks the brand as authentically historical for domestic consumers and international visitors seeking genuine traditional products.

Historic Retail Locations

Wu Yu Tai operates multiple tea shops in Beijing, with the Gulou East Street (鼓楼东大街) location as its historic original site in the hutong district north of the Drum Tower. The physical presence in historic neighbourhoods — with the traditional architecture, tea tasting counters, and knowledgeable staff — is integral to the brand’s identity and differentiates it from modern branded tea chains.

History

• 1887: Wu Yu Tai founded in Beijing by Wu Xiushao from Anhui Province; Gulou district original location; jasmine tea specialty.
• Qing Dynasty through Republic: Established as a leading Beijing tea house; jasmine tea the specialty; the Anhui merchant tradition in Chinese tea trade.
• 20th century: Survived political transformations of the Republic, War period, and People’s Republic; continued operation under state management during planned economy era.
• Reform era: Restored commercial brand identity; expanded retail network; Zhongguo Laozihao designation.
• Present: Beijing tea shop network; jasmine tea specialty; historic brand; Laozihao designation; modern retail alongside traditional tea culture.

Social Media Sentiment

• Old Beijing (Lao Beijing) culture: Wu Yu Tai is an iconic symbol of old Beijing’s food and beverage culture — cited alongside Quanjude Peking Duck and other Laozihao brands as a genuine historic institution of the city.
• Jasmine tea buyers: Wu Yu Tai is the reference brand for quality Beijing-style jasmine tea; recommendations for authentic Beijing jasmine tea invariably mention Wu Yu Tai.
• Heritage tourism: International and domestic visitors to Beijing who seek authentic traditional shopping experiences visit Wu Yu Tai’s historic Gulou area shops; the brand features in Beijing travel content.
• Chinese tea heritage community: Wu Yu Tai is discussed in the context of Chinese traditional tea culture preservation — a brand that maintains continuity with the Qing Dynasty tea retail tradition.

Last updated: 2026-06

Related Terms

• Jasmine Tea
• Chinese Tea Culture
• Beijing Tea Culture
• Scented Tea
• Green Tea
• Zhongguo Laozihao
• Anhui Tea

See Also

• Sakubo – Japanese Study

Research

• Wu Yu Tai founding (1887): Qing Dynasty Beijing, Anhui merchant tradition, and jasmine tea specialty.
  Summary: Documents Wu Yu Tai’s 1887 founding in Beijing by Wu Xiushao from Anhui Province — the Huishang (Anhui merchant) tradition that dominated the Chinese tea trade during the Ming and Qing dynasties; the original Gulou district location in Beijing’s historical hutong neighbourhoods; the jasmine tea specialty that became synonymous with Beijing tea culture; and the brand’s survival through the political and commercial transformations of the 20th century from Qing Dynasty to People’s Republic.

• Jasmine tea: production, Beijing tea culture, and Wu Yu Tai’s reference position.
  Summary: Examines jasmine tea (茉莉花茶) as the historical drinking tea of Beijing and northern China — the production process of repeatedly scenting green tea leaves with fresh jasmine blossoms during the summer flowering season (most closely associated with Fujian and Suzhou production), the historical association of jasmine tea consumption with Beijing’s tea culture; and Wu Yu Tai’s position as the reference brand for quality Beijing-style jasmine tea, inseparable from the city’s tea identity for over 135 years.

• Zhongguo Laozihao designation: China’s time-honoured brand certification and cultural significance.
  Summary: Covers the Zhongguo Laozihao (中国老字号, “China Time-Honoured Brand”) government designation — the criteria (minimum 50-year history, preserved traditional cultural characteristics, recognised social and economic significance), the categories of heritage commercial brands holding the designation (tea, traditional medicine, food, handicrafts), and the commercial and cultural significance of the designation for brands like Wu Yu Tai — marking authenticity for domestic consumers and international visitors seeking genuine traditional products.

• Wu Yu Tai’s historic Beijing retail locations and the Lao Beijing heritage shopping experience.
  Summary: Examines Wu Yu Tai’s network of Beijing tea shops — the Gulou East Street historic original location in the hutong district north of the Drum Tower, the traditional architecture and retail environment with tea tasting counters and knowledgeable staff, the role of the physical historic locations in differentiating Wu Yu Tai from modern branded tea chains; and Wu Yu Tai’s position in Beijing heritage tourism as an iconic Lao Beijing (old Beijing) institution visited by both domestic and international tourists seeking authentic traditional city experiences.