Antonio Bonet Mulet, a Spanish expat living in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, learns how to make tea at a tea culture promotion event held in the city on Dec 7. [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

Huzhou in East China's Zhejiang province unveiled three recommended tourism routes for visitors to explore local tea culture on Dec 7.

The routes feature some of the stops mentioned in The Classic of Tea compiled by Lu Yu, which is said to be the world's first monograph on tea culture.

The release of these routes is part of the local government's efforts to drive tourism growth by leveraging local tea culture.

In late November, the processing techniques of Zisun tea and Anji White tea from Huzhou were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage at its 17th regular session in Rabat, Morocco.

Zheng Funian, a local veteran tea maker, said at the roundtable conference held after the launch ceremony that Zisun tea making skills has become a "common wealth of all mankind", and that he is inspired to continue promoting the traditional craft.

Zheng has stuck to making tea by hand for more than 40 years, after picking up the traditional skill at the age of 17.

Zisun tea is primarily grown on Guzhu Mountain in Huzhou's Changxing county and was used as a royal tribute during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It was hailed as the best tea by Lu Yu in The Classic of Tea.