Breakfast in Yangzhou is something to wake up for

Xiehuangtangbao, or crab-roe soup dumpling, and Tanggansi, or shredded tofu in soup, are among the small treats at Ye Chun. [Photo by OWEN FISHWICK/CHINA DAILY]

I'm not normally one for early starts. But the breakfast in Yangzhou is something to wake up early for, I'm assured by my Chinese colleagues.

And so, on a brief trip to the historical city, I find myself up before the sun preparing to tuck into something I've never tried before - zaocha.

Zaocha, or early breakfast tea, is something of an institution in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. It is an early-morning meal where delicious small treats are served with a variety of steaming hot teas.

You might say it sounds similar to any other breakfast ritual that takes place throughout the world - that's where you'd be wrong. Zaocha in Yangzhou is a traditional, cultural and overwhelmingly social event.