A Gala Gathering of International Tea Circles
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In May, 2008, when the springtime displayed its verdant charms in the south of the Yangtze River Delta, the memorial meeting of the 15th anniversary of the China International Tea Culture Institute and the 10th International Tea Culture Symposium and the 1st Huzhou Lu Yu Tea Culture Festival were held in Changxing, Zhejiang, a coastal province in eastern China.
Changxing boasts a history of 1,700 years and is the home of Chen Baxian, the founding emperor of the Chen Dynasty (557-589A.D.). It was in Changxing that Lu Yu, a scholar of the Tang Dynasty, wrote the Book of Tea, China’s first academic book on tea.The country’s earliest royal tea institute was located in Changxing. The purple bamboo shoot tea manufactured in Guzhu, Changxing was famed throughout history and enjoys a reputation even today. Given its history and status quo, Changxing has played an important part in the history of the development of our national tea culture.
The gala celebration started on May 28, 2008 at the Square of the Changxing Grand Theater, attended by national and provincial leaders and 800 plus researchers of tea studies, tea professionals and business people, and cultural celebrities.
Lu Zushan, governor of Zhejiang Province, extended his warm congratulations to the gathering at the opening ceremony on behalf of the CPC Zhejiang Committee and the Zhejiang Provincial Government. Liu Feng, president of the CITCI, spoke at the opening ceremony. He said that China planted tea first in the world and that the country has a profound and great tea culture, which is an important component of the oriental civilization. He went on to point out that tea is highly concerned with health, economy and culture and that the symposium will contribute to the development of tea culture and tea industry in Changxing, Huzhou and Zhejiang.
On the morning of May 29th, 2008, the commemoration meeting of the 15th anniversary of the CITCI was held in Changxing, attended by national, provincial and local leaders. Zhou Guofu, the president of the CPPCC Zhejiang Branch, talked about the achievements accomplished over the past 15 years under the leadership of the party and the government and with the support from the people of all walks of life and particularly the tea circles. Liu Feng summarized the work of the past 15 years and said that the CITCI would continue to implement the scientific concept of science, adhere to the people-oriented principle, unite with and rely on the tea culture workers and professionals to have new ideas and new measures for new development and create a new situation for tea culture undertakings.
On the morning of the May 30, the 10th international tea Culture Symposium convened at the Changxing Administration Conference Center. More than 200 experts and researchers from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, USA, Germany, and Australia attended the symposium.
The highlight of the gala celebration was the inauguration ceremony of the Tea Institute of the Tang Dynasty at Guzhu, Changxing on the afternoon of May 28. After the three-year construction, the 98-million-yuan institute with a floor space of 17,700 square meters covers an area of 49,700 square meters. In the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty and situated at the foot of the Guzhu Mountain, the building in two tiers spreads majestically. On the compound are the Lu Yu Pavilion, the Tea Institute (museum), and the Jixiang Temple.
The purple bamboo shoot tea was recommended as a tribute by Lu Yu and the Huzhou magistrate Pei Qing to the Tang court. The tea was designated as the tribute in 770. Every year, 920 km of tea must be submitted as tribute to the court. The institute hired more than 1,000 craftsmen and 300 tea-leave pickers and ran more than 100 tea processing workshops. After the Qingming Festival every year, the local magistrate would follow a royal decree and come to the institute to supervise the tea processing. In the Tang Dynasty, altogether 28 magistrates came to supervise tea production at the institute on imperial orders in springtime. The annual tribute lasted over 800 years in Changxing from the Tang Dynasty on. No other tea was more appreciated by royal courts than this tea in the history of China.
Other celebration activities included a large variety show called the Chinese Tea Ballad performed by 260 students from the Tea Culture School of Zhejiang Forestry College. A feature film on Lu Yu was screened. A photography exhibition was held to highlight the beauty of the tea capital of the Tang Dynasty. A tea-pot making competition was held to present the best tea pots. International guests also paid homage to Lu Yu at his tomb and visited ancient tea plantations. Tea professionals from China, Japan and Korea performed their respective tea rituals. The CCTV, China’s largest television network, broadcast a special program on the tea cultural activities in Changxing. A trade and investment event was also held in Changxing simultaneously and contracts worth hundreds of millions yuan were signed.