Enjoy a live tea show at a nearly 100-year-old traditional tea factory in Bao Loc.

Bao Loc - the land of B'lao and a culture that grew up from the tea plant.

Amidst the year-round cool B'lao plateau, tea plants are not just agricultural crops but have become a cultural lifeline, nurturing the lives of the local people for over a century. The first chapters of the Bao Loc tea story begin in the early 20th century, when the French brought tea varieties from Cau Dat - Da Lat to experiment in this basaltic red soil region. Thanks to the mild climate at an altitude of about 800-1,000 meters and fertile soil, the tea plants quickly took root, developing into large plantations and laying the foundation for a distinctive economic and cultural life of the region.

Over time, the B'lao tea region has transformed with the emergence of many new varieties and techniques, notably Oolong tea imported from Taiwan in the late 20th century. This diversity has not diminished its identity; on the contrary, it has helped Bao Loc possess a rich selection of teas with increasingly high quality. Tea has thus become a natural part of people's lives, present in morning greetings, in welcoming guests, in conversations, and even in local cultural promotion activities.

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The old tea factory from 1927 - a relic of the industrial past of B'lao.

In the developing landscape of B'lao, the 1927 Tea Factory stands out as a special symbol. More than just a production facility for decades, it preserves the memories of the tea-making craft through its moss-covered walls, the sounds of old machinery, and the enduring spirit of a bygone era. Whenever festivals, art exhibitions, or tea-tasting events take place, the factory opens its doors as a "house of memories," allowing locals and tourists to witness a Bảo Lộc that is profound, proud, and deeply rooted in its tea heritage.

Founded in 1927 under French influence, the facility was built as a large-scale processing plant, bearing the hallmarks of early 20th-century industrial architecture. For decades, the factory operated as the heart of the tea region: trucks carrying fresh leaves lined up in the workshop, drying ovens burned brightly all night, and rolling and kneading machines created the characteristic sounds of a prosperous era.

Today, no longer in production, the factory has been preserved and restored as a cultural space, where the old steel pillars appear like a slow-motion film about the centuries-old tea-making tradition of B'lao. This very tranquility has become the inspiration for an unprecedented work: "Beauty in the Mist."

"Beauty in the Mist" - live performance art emerging from the heart of heritage.

In November 2025, more than 20 artists from various fields visited the 1927 Old Tea Factory to participate in the 1927 Creative Camp. During their 30-day stay, they listened to the sounds of the old factory, observed the streaks of light sliding across the corrugated iron roof, touched the aging walls, and searched for inspiration for their works. The result is “1927 Show: Aesthetics in the Mist,” a live performance that will debut in early December as part of the World Tea Fest 2025.

What makes the show unique and memorable lies in its creative approach: the material comes first, the script follows; emotions precede the story. The work doesn't tell a linear story but opens up a realm of delicate, misty feeling – where the factory space becomes a "co-author." The moss-covered walls, wooden beams, and mottled shadows are not merely the backdrop but the very material that inspires the artists to create new layers of meaning.

The Soul of the Land - Bao Loc Tea Hills

The journey of "Beauty in the Mist" is guided through three layers of space, beginning with the Soul of the Land - Bao Loc Tea Hill, where the early morning mist, soil, and sprawling tea hills create the first identity of the B'lao region. This is expressed through the installations of visual artist Phuong Gio. For "B'lao Rain," long raindrops are recreated in light, creating the feeling of standing amidst the highland mist.

Alongside this are the authentic perspectives conveyed by two photographers, Nguyen Van Thuong and Hoang Le Giang. While Nguyen Van Thuong finds humanity in the rhythm of life in the tea-growing region, Hoang Le Giang is captivated by the layers of time covering the factory. He shares that the machinery here remains almost intact, but it is the weathered walls, stained by the rain and sun of B'lao, that tell the story most slowly, much like the way the people of Bao Loc enjoy tea – slow, tranquil, and full of contemplation.

The Soul of the Craft - The Manufacturing Plant

From that foundation, the narrative expands to recreate the rhythm of labor that shaped the history of tea making for nearly a century at the old 1927 tea factory. The artwork "Baby in a Basket" uses shadow painting to evoke the image of workers in the past placing their children in baskets right at this location while they worked in the tea factory. The artistic space thus becomes a meeting point between personal and collective memory, between the present and the past of the tea industry.

Alongside this, the labor movements of the workers are recreated right on the machines and production lines that have been lying idle for many years. These moments brought back a part of the past, vividly depicting the rhythm of labor in the B'lao tea region.

Tea Ceremony - The Vietnamese Culture of Tea Drinking

As all senses gradually subside, a third space emerges as a subtle stopping point, where viewers can perceive the slowness, tranquility, and spiritual values ​​that a cup of tea carries through generations.

Artist Lafe, a renowned Thai watercolor artist known for his no-sketching technique, has created an image of a red camellia flower from a 300-year-old tea tree (dating back to 1700), predating the construction of the factory and still blooming today. The presence of the flower serves as a silent witness to history, extending the cultural lifeline of B'lao.

As the tour concludes, visitors enter the final space – a 20-minute live performance. Under the direction of screenwriter Pham Thien Vu, director Nguyen Duy Thanh, and choreographer Thinh Tieu, musicians, percussionists, singers, movement artists, and poet-painter Lai Thuong Hung come together to create an emotionally charged visual-auditory symphony. Hand movements mimic the actions of picking, filtering, mixing, and roasting tea; the lighting changes rhythmically from slow to intense; and the sound alternates between resonant and deep, like the breathing of an old factory.

The performance lacks a climax and a clear ending. It's more like a flow of emotions, allowing each person to find what they want to retain. As director Nguyen Duy Thanh shared, it's "a space for everyone to feel and appreciate it for themselves."

Behind this artistic endeavor is a collaboration between the Doi Dep brand, which pursues local values ​​and the beauty of Vietnamese life, and 4LLIN Performance Art, a pioneer in creating heritage-based experiences. From the intersection of contemporary art and the ancient values ​​of the B'lao tea-making craft, "Beauty in the Mist" is not just a show, but also a way for Bao Loc to tell its century-old story through contemporary art. From tea hills to old factories, from raindrops to red camellia flowers, from the sounds of factory machinery to the breath of the artist, everything blends together to renew the experience of tea – a cultural symbol of the B'lao region.

In the nearly 100-year-old factory, where time has etched its gray-brown walls, the beauty of local culture suddenly becomes as light as mist, yet deeply ingrained, enduring, and vibrant as tea.

Text and photos: Quynh Mai