Sophisticated tea merchants with an entrepreneurial spirit have inhabited the streets of Beijing’s Maliandao neighborhood since the early 1990s. The area has developed into the largest tea wholesale market in northern China despite the fact that no tea is produced in the region. Teas sold in the market come from more than ten different producing areas; high-quality white, Oolong, black, green, and even hard-to-find yellow teas can be found at prices 2-3 times less than retail stores.