page_title: Lingnan culture
section_title: Tea culture
hierarchical_section_title: Lingnan culture / Food culture / Tea culture
caption_attribution_description: Cantonese dim sum yumcha yum cha City Hall Maxim's Palace Restaurant
context_page_description: Lingnan culture, or Cantonese culture, refers to the regional Chinese culture of the region of Lingnan: twin provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, the names of which mean "eastern expanse" and "western expanse" respectively.
  Strictly speaking, the term "Lingnan culture" has two definitions:
  In a purely geographical sense, the term includes not only Cantonese culture but also the cultures of the Hakkas, Teochews, Taishanese, Hainanese and non-Chinese groups such as the Zhuangs, Tanka or She within the Lingnan region.
  More typically, is only used in referring to Cantonese culture, the historically dominant culturo-linguistic force in Guangdong and Guangxi.
  With the migration of the Cantonese people to nearby Hong Kong and Macau, as well as in many overseas communities, Lingnan/Cantonese culture has become an influential cultural force in the international community, and forms the basis of the cultures of Hong Kong and Macau.
context_section_description: Yum cha (Jyutping: Jam² caa⁴; Traditional Chinese: 飲茶, literally "to drink tea") is a subculture within Cantonese food culture. While it can be found in some other Han Chinese groups, it is far more prevalent among Cantonese people, and also overseas Chinese, historically most of whom have been of Cantonese ancestry. It has a specific set of terminologies among Cantonese. For instance, "to invite someone to go yum cha" is basically a way of expressing friendship. Traditionally, Cantonese could go yum cha whether in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Morning tea is typically dominated by the elderly, although many younger people often accompany their grandparents for morning tea as a way of showing respect and affection. Cantonese teahouses also have a set of food specifically designed for morning tea. Afternoon tea is similar in most aspects, except it is more common for entire families to go yum cha at this hour. Evening tea tends to attract large gatherings - and the foods ordered in such hours also tend to be more sophisticated.
  Regardless of hours, yum cha starts with the diners ordering a specific set of teas they would like to drink. After that, the waiters would bring the teas, which the diners will be drinking while enjoying the foods and engaging in all sorts of social interactions. Even after they have finished the foods, the diners still tend to stay for half an hour or so chatting.
caption: Yum cha hour in Hong Kong City Hall.
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