Tea Road protection focus of event in Fujian

Experts from China, Mongolia and Russia called for joint efforts protect and explore the ancient Tea Road, extending 13,000 kilometers across the three countries.

The ancient Tea Road, starting from Wuyi Mountain in China, has stretched northward to Mongolia and Russia since the late 17th century and emerged as a renowned international trade channel, thriving for more than two centuries while serving as a vital part of the well-known Silk Road.

World-famous Chinese tea and tea culture were transmitted to Russia and European countries through this route.

The ancient Tea Road has been included in the shortlist to bid for UNESCO World Heritage on March 20, "marking a major step forward for the ancient road into a bright future of protection" the activity's organizing committee said.

The two-day event The World Cultural Heritage application for the Tea Road Heritage took place in Wuyishan city, Fujian province, on Dec 1 and 2. The event gathered together experts and scholars from China, Mongolia and Russia as well as representatives of cities along the Tea Road to conduct in-depth research and discussions on the topic of the application, especially regarding actions and next steps such as tea tourism integration, mutual communication and resource introduction to form operational consensus and practical guidance.

As the starting point of the Tea Road, Wuyishan city of Fujian province has a large number of representative materials and cultural heritage as well as rich experience and advanced paradigms in heritage protection, application and management, which may contribute to the recent application work of the Tea Road, said Xie Qilong, Wuyishan city mayor, at the activity.

Wu Yunru in Beijing contributed to this story.