How foods and ways of eating and drinking spread and break through cultural barriers is an intriguing question in food history research. So the question of how coffee was introduced into China, an area where tea drinking had a long history and had formed a distinctive culture, is a question well worth investigation. Coffee was exotic to China, and was introduced along with foreigners and their diet customs. It is likely that even as early as the reign of Daoguang (道光) there were foreigners who drank coffee in Macao. When the numbers of foreigners in China increased and Western dietary culture became more familiar, coffee came to be recognized as a part of Western food. Especially with the establishment of coffee houses, China was provided with a new food culture and a new leisure space. With the domestic consumption of coffee increasing and handsome business profits to be gained by trade with foreigners, some Chinese tried to cultivate coffee in the southern and southwestern China. The amount produced however was small. Coffee for consumption in China still came mainly from overseas. Records for the import of coffee into China began in 1863. According to these accounts, the annual import volume and value generally showed a growth trend. The major import countries changed from Western countries to Southeast Asia, Central America and South America. Shanghai was the most important port for the import of coffee. There were also several ports for coffee imports along the southeast coast, and these gradually spread to the north and south. When foreigners obtained the right to domestic navigation, importing gradually turned from the coast to the interior. The increase of coffee imports also meant the development of coffee consumption in China.