In a significant stride towards preserving and recognizing the historical significance of the Tea Road – or the 10 thousand li (5,000 kilometers) of tea road stretching from East China's Fujian province to Mongolia and Russia – things have moved on.
Experts from the International Council on Monuments and Sites joined hands with representatives from cities along the ancient trade route in an international symposium held on Nov 21 in Huangshan city – located in East China's Anhui province.
Huizhou – the ancient name of Huangshan city – played a crucial role in the Tea Road's legacy, with tea merchants proactively engaging in trade, primarily dealing in the renowned Qimen Black Tea.
In 2021, Anhui became the ninth province to collectively seek world heritage status for the Tea Road, with Qimen county in Huangshan city being the sole representative for Anhui in the application alliance.
Recent years have seen the county undertake various measures to preserve and promote the cultural heritage along the Tea Road.
For instance, a comprehensive survey of local cultural relics related to the Tea Road – coupled with efforts to protect and utilize these sites – has been undertaken.
In addition, the county has engaged in international cooperation for the world heritage application, leveraging the global influence of Qimen Black Tea.
Furthermore, Qimen county has initiated projects to deepen the processing of high-quality black tea and tea-derived products. It has even established a mixed-use base to boost the integrated development of the local tea, cultural and tourism industries.
It's hoped that the symposium held in Huangshan city will boost mutual learning and understanding between China, Mongolia and Russia – elevating cross-border joint world heritage application efforts to a new level.