[not_chriscohoat]

Totally agree on your tea assessment, and I also greatly prefer Oolong tea. We'd only ever drink Oolong if we were in a teahouse or other formally prepared setting, as I can't recall a single we (me and my wife) made it successfully.

I've lived in China for nearly a year and completely agree with your budget, but I'm really curious about the 20,000RMB meals you've had. I'd say I've had quite a few meals with governmental officials and company board members, but nothing even close to that type of budget. Mind if I ask which city and/or what circumstances led to such an outing?

[Shenglong]

I was in Shanghai, and Tianjin. They were 12+ people or so, and a lot of the cost was attributed to alcohol and tea. An original Da Hong Pao, for example, will put you well over the 20k RMB mark, but restaurants won't serve it so you need to make special arrangements.