Events to promote Chinese tea culture kick off in Mongolia

ULAN BATOR, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A series of events to promote Chinese tea culture were launched at the Chinese Cultural Center here on Thursday to mark the upcoming International Tea Day.

The series of events, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and the Chinese Embassy in Mongolia, includes a photo exhibition of Chinese tea history and culture, an exhibition of tea sets and teas, a seminar on tea culture and an ancient tea road, a Chinese Shaanxi Fucha tea art exhibition, tea tasting activities and others.

"The ancient 'Great Tea Road' opened up a commercial road between the two countries with the spirit of peace, friendship, openness and tolerance," said Li Zhi, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Mongolia and director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Ulan Bator, during the opening ceremony.

Radnaabazar Altangerel, director of the Department of Neighboring Countries at the Mongolian Foreign Ministry, said at the opening ceremony that cultural and humanitarian cooperation is an important part of bilateral relations and cooperation in general between the two neighbors.

The United Nations General Assembly in 2019 designated May 21 as International Tea Day, and "Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" was added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in 2022.