Tea, the most consumed drink in the world after water, was listed as one of the seven daily necessities of life in China in ancient times, along with firewood, rice, oil, salt, vinegar and soy sauce.

Since tea trees were discovered thousands of years ago, the beverage has become intimately integrated with daily life and has developed a unique culture.

How could such a little leaf from nature generate such great power? An ongoing exhibition focusing on tea culture at Beijing's Palace Museum tries to explore the answer by offering visitors a comprehensive view of the drink.

The World of Tea: Special Exhibition of Tea Culture displays 555 items related to tea culture, many of which are on loan from museums outside China, including the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Tokyo National Museum in Japan.

It is divided into four sections that illustrate the origin of Chinese tea culture, the philosophy behind it, its far-reaching influence, links with other cultures and its modern development.

Wang Guangyao, curator of the show and also a researcher at the Palace Museum, says that he had the idea for the show 10 years ago, and he and his team spent five years in preparation.

"It is not merely about drinking tea and the culture behind it, we also want to demonstrate the relationship between people and the world via the medium of tea," says Wang, who is also a veteran archaeologist.

In the first section, many items unearthed at archaeological sites are on display to show the origin and development of tea culture in China.

This is often linked to the myth of Shennong, who is regarded as the father of agriculture and traditional Chinese medicine, and who was said to have discovered the medicinal use of tea leaves in ancient times. Tea tree roots unearthed at the Tianluoshan site in Yuyao, Zhejiang province, have pushed back the beginning of cultivation to about 6,000 years ago.

A bowl with remnants of tea leaves discovered in a tomb in Zoucheng, Shandong province, proves that as early as 2,400 years ago, people were drinking tea. Whether they did so for medicinal reasons or as a beverage has yet to be determined.

Since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), methods of brewing tea have developed along various lines from cooking, frying, and grinding leaves to powder to boiling them in hot water, depending on the lifestyles of different dynasties.

Many items on display show that tea was already a popular beverage in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Given the exquisite tea sets dating to that period and ancient paintings depicting elite entertainments, it was especially appreciated by the upper class and the imperial family.

In the Tang Dynasty painting Maids Holding Teacup and Saucer, a maid waits to serve her lord tea. The painting, found in a tomb in Turpan in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, vividly demonstrates that drinking the beverage was common in western China more than 1,000 years ago.

Wang says that drinking tea involves more than just preparation and beautiful utensils, and also reflects the philosophy of how the Chinese relate to the outside world.

One of the sections, The Way of Tea Reserves Harmony, illustrates the philosophy through paintings, documents, tea sets and even the recreation of an imperial teahouse.

The Chinese character for tea comprises three parts. The top represents grass, the middle indicates a person and the bottom radical depicts a tree. A person standing between grass and trees involved in making tea.

"The Chinese character for tea is a demonstration of people's relationships with nature. From leaf to brew, we transform nature's gift into a source of spiritual enjoyment," says Wang.

The art and practice of drinking tea is about much more than soaking leaves in a cup of hot water. The ancient Chinese used the word chadao, the way of tea, to honor their pursuit of living a life of grace and gratitude, as well as of keeping a balanced and harmonious relationship with nature and the world.

"The Chinese pursue a harmonious existence with nature, and this can be seen from how they drink tea in daily life," adds Wang.

In some ancient scrolls painted by ink masters, literati, an upper echelon with a long history in China, meet peers at well-decorated teahouses to enjoy tea, appreciate calligraphy or paintings, and chat.

The teahouses are built either in gardens or hidden in the mountains.

"The literati preferred to enjoy tea in natural places to purify their mind. From the Song Dynasty (960-1279) onward, building teahouses was a fashion among the upper classes," says Shan Yingying, an assistant researcher at the Palace Museum, adding that tea parties were often held at teahouses with scenic views.

The exhibition has replicated a teahouse belonging to Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) from a painting by the emperor, to allow visitors to experience ancient tea culture. Tea-god figurines, porcelain cups, blue-and-white pots, antique jade from the Neolithic period and antique bronzes are neatly displayed and the round table is designed in the Western style.

A die-hard tea lover, Emperor Qianlong built more than a dozen teahouses in Beijing at different scenic locations.

"The emperor's teahouse is an integration of various cultures. It also reflects the openness and tolerance of Chinese culture," says Shan.

Many paintings, documents and utensils depict the tea cultures of other ethnic groups in times gone by. It's interesting that no matter which group people belonged to, tea culture and the way of drinking tea eventually became almost the same, adds Shan.

"From the perspective of tea culture, we can see that the development of Chinese culture is diverse and integrated," she adds.

In the Tea Roads Extending to the World section, many tea-related items, sent as gifts from other countries to the imperial family in the Forbidden City, are on display. Tea sets from Britain, Japan and Russia show how tea culture spread to other parts of the world, and how people elsewhere drank tea.

"Some enamel tea pots have Chinese figures or elements painted on them. Meanwhile, items from the West were widely used during tea ceremonies in the Forbidden City. It was a form of mutual exchange and cultural communication," says Wang.

Apart from the utensils and paintings, visitors can also smell, touch and enjoy tea.

Dozens of tea bricks of various sizes and shapes made in different places and sent by officials to the imperial family during the Qing Dynasty are also on display, and the aroma of tea fills the exhibition hall's air. Visitors can sit in a modern teahouse, examine different varieties of leaves and finally, have a cup.

"We want our audience to fully immerse themselves in the show by setting up interaction spaces," says Wang.