“Tea for Harmony-Yaji Cultural Salon”, a global event to promote China’s tea culture hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China together with the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, was launched at the Marino Beach Hotel on Tuesday (21) under the patronage of Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong and Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana.
The China Cultural Centre in Sri Lanka along with the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Government, China, organised the “Tea for Harmony”-Yaji Cultural Salon to mark the “International Tea Day” on May 21. Director of the Chinese Cultural Centre in Sri Lanka Ni Lisheng and First-Level Inspector Lai Fuqiang of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Government, China, and around 200 guests including foreign diplomats also participated.
The event highlights included an immersive cultural experience comprising Guangxi ethnic costume culture exhibition, Guangxi pictorial tour exhibition, Guangxi traditional costume catwalk, intangible cultural heritage tea art display, a Guangxi traditional song and dance performance and a Sri Lankan traditional dance performance.
A Guangxi dance performance at the event Pix by Sudath Nishantha
The event intended to “give tea a greater role in enhancing friendly dialogue and mutual learning between civilisations” and raise awareness of Chinese tea culture around the world, and follow the inscription of traditional tea processing techniques and their associated social practices in China on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity in 2022.
Sri Lanka and China share a longstanding bilateral friendship that has run for many centuries, which is now extended for economic, social, political, and business activities. The two countries have distinct, common, and unique cultural activities that result in deep bonds between the peoples of the two nations. The latest addition to the event calendar, the “Tea Cultural Exhibition” will contribute to augment friendship among the peoples of the two countries.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana said China is the birthplace of tea. Through historical routes such as the Silk Road, the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, and the Ten Thousand Miles of Tea Road, tea has travelled through time, transcended national boundaries, spread across the East and the West, and integrated into different cultures and social customs.
He said in China, tea is not only a beverage, but also the crystallisation of civilisation and knowledge passed down from generation to generation. It is not only a way of life, but also an integral part of Chinese history and culture. Reliable historical records have proved that tea cultivation and production in China started 3,000 years ago.
According to the legend of Shennong, the first man in Chinese history to use herbs as medicine, tea has a history of 5,000 years in China. Over thousands of years, Chinese tea culture has developed and accumulated rich spiritual and cultural connotations around tea making and tea drinking. It has permeated every corner of society, penetrated into people’s lives, and found its way into various fields of Chinese literature, calligraphy and painting, religion, and medicine.
The Speaker said Chinese tea culture advocates the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature and serves as an important link between China and the world. “Today, we are engaged in friendly dialogues between civilisations with tea as the medium and promoting mutual understanding and learning between civilisations. I hope that this event will help more and more people understand Chinese tea culture, appreciate the charm of Chinese traditional culture, and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.”
Speaker Abeywardana said Sri Lankan tea or Ceylon Tea, well known worldwide, has a unique history and cultural heritage. The people of China and Sri Lanka share a long history of growing, making, tasting and drinking tea, fostering exchanges and mutual learning.
Though tea is produced in different places, it derives from a common source. Tea has become a common part of the lifestyle of the two peoples and an important link to connect and bring them closer. “I believe that tea, as a medium today, will further promote cultural exchanges between the two countries and strengthen the friendship between the two peoples,” he added.
