On February 6, 2026, Heytea’s Day Dreamer Project (DP) series welcomed its latest masterpiece: the Guangzhou Shamian DP Store. Titled “A Tea Break, First and Foremost,” this new space reflects on the evolution of Guangzhou’s traditional tea-drinking culture, presenting the newest inspiration for the brand’s classic spatial design series. Alongside the store opening, Heytea introduced three location-exclusive products, once again offering users a differentiated, city-specific experience.
Since 2024, Heytea has been actively refreshing its nationwide store spaces and opening new locations. The return of the DP series was marked by the Chengdu Chunxi Road DP store, “Overlapping Courtyards.” The launch of the Guangzhou Shamian DP store represents another significant addition to the series in Guangzhou. As a key strategic market, Guangzhou now boasts one of the richest portfolios of Heytea’s differentiated store formats and brand expressions. By creating unique store concepts in different cities, Heytea continues to craft new tea drink spaces with distinct identity and memorable experiences, from spatial design to product offerings.
A Cultural Landmark Location: Reinterpreting Tradition Through Space
Nestled within the Shamian architectural complex, a protected historical landmark in Guangzhou, the Heytea Shamian DP store resides in the former site of the Chartered Bank building. It extends the DP series’ core philosophy of inspired exploration, integrating elements of the traditional tea ceremony—tea seats, stalls, chests, and shops—into a multi-sensory spatial experience. This offers a fresh, modern interpretation of Guangzhou’s tea culture.
Bamboo weaving, a common element in traditional tea settings, serves as the central design motif. A stunning three-dimensional bamboo installation covering the ceiling was handcrafted over 240 hours. The light and shadows filtering through its weave create an effect akin to sitting beneath a canopy of trees, harmonizing with the leafy streets of Shamian just outside and fostering a natural, airy atmosphere.
The central seating area draws inspiration from the traditional bamboo couch (“zhuā tà”), around which tea activities naturally unfold. Heytea uses bamboo to create shade and define seating areas, crafting a carefree ambiance for leisurely tea sipping and conversation. The store also features several tea aroma discovery zones, showcasing Heytea’s signature tea bases like Green Tea, Yan Hong, Ya Xi Xiang Oolong, and Yingde Black Tea, inviting customers to engage intimately with the scents of tea. By blending these elements with the building’s original architecture, Heytea cultivates a unique spatial emotion rooted in local culture, offering a new urban retreat for tea enjoyment.
Location-Exclusive Creations: A Modern Take on Classic Desserts
To celebrate the opening, Heytea launched three store-exclusive products. Drawing inspiration from classic Cantonese desserts (“tong sui”), the “Fresh Beancurd Stick Soy Milk” combines fragrant soy milk with Heytea’s premium 3.8% Source Pasture Milk, simmered daily with fresh beancurd sticks, sweet lotus seeds, and barley for a contemporary twist on a familiar flavor. The “Fresh Beancurd Stick Soy Milk Ice Cream” offers a novel combination of these same elements.
Additionally, the “Salted Cheese Yingde Red Tea Ice Cream” presents the distinctive flavor of Guangdong’s Yingde Black Tea in a new form. Using high-quality tea leaves from the core region of Yingde, renowned as the “Home of Black Tea,” Heytea highlights its characteristic “rich, mellow, sweet aroma” with creamy milk and a hint of salted cheese, introducing a savory-sweet note reminiscent of local tastes.
The Ongoing DP Series: A Continuous Exploration of Differentiated Space
The Guangzhou Shamian DP store marks the latest work since the DP series’ revival in 2025, following the Chengdu “Overlapping Courtyards” store. First launched in 2017, the groundbreaking DP series pioneered spatial design in the new tea drink sector, driving industry-wide upgrades in customer experience through its avant-garde explorations.
Since 2024, Heytea has been opening new stores and upgrading existing ones across China. Examples include the “Cliffside Tea House” in Kunming retracing the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, the “Tea Sea Floating Boat” in Haikou reinterpreting maritime tea rituals, the “Chess & Tea” concept in Beijing revisiting everyday life in hutongs, and the futuristic “Tea Culture Archaeological Site” in Shanghai. These designs break the mold of conventional tea shops, creating spaces that feel both familiar and distinctly unique to local consumers.
In 2025 alone, Heytea refreshed over 130 stores and opened numerous new locations in more than 30 cities across different tiers, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Jilin, Suzhou, and Zhuzhou. Each contributes inspired, relaxing spaces to its urban fabric. With the Guangzhou Shamian DP store as its latest exemplar, Heytea continues to develop differentiated stores that offer richer experiences, conveying the brand’s ethos of relaxed inspiration.
