Breakfast in Yangzhou is something to wake up for

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.