Kunming, Yunnan, 17 August 2023 (Xinhua)

First South Asia Tea Festival kicks off Thursday at the seventh China-South Asia Expo in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province. showcasing tea culture and promoting tea products.

The five-day expo features 15 exhibition halls and 14 activities, covering all South Asian and Southeast Asian countries as well as member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

As a large producer of tea in the world, China began tea consuming about 5,000 years ago and is a home to a variety of teas.

China celebrated first International Tea Day on 21 May 2020 at the Chinese Businessman Museum, Beijing. Guided by the China NGO Network for International Exchange, the event was jointly launched by the China Culture Promotion Society, the Tea Road (China) Cooperative (TRC) and the China Chamber of Commerce of I/E of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-products (CFNA).

First International Day also received support from about 50 embassies and tea-related organizations, including the Mongolian Embassy in China, China Tea Science Society, European Tea Association and 30 cities at home and abroad, such as Moscow and Melbourne.

Chinese tea ceremony is arguably one of the most important wedding traditions in the Chinese culture. It represents the formal introduction of the newlyweds to their families and shows their respect and gratitude towards them. In return, the newlyweds are welcomed into the family and receive blessings for their union.

For most couples, the Chinese wedding tea ceremony is where they get to meet most or all of their respective family members. Therefore, the tea ceremony serves as a formal introduction of the newlyweds to their respective families where they pay their respects by addressing their elders by their formal titles and serving them a cup of tea, and receive blessings for their union and an official welcome into the family.