The 2018 Hangzhou Tea Culture Expo and Tea Festival

On the morning of March 23, Hangzhou Tourism Commission held a press conference detailing this year’s Tea Culture Expo and Tea Festival. Representatives from all sectors of the industry attended the meeting and introduced a variety of activities. Hangzhou Tourism Commission mentioned that, to highlight the urban brand of Hangzhou being Chinese Capital of Tea and to develop tea tourism, the 2018 Hangzhou Tea Culture Expo and Hangzhou Tea Festival will be held this month. Since its creation in 2005, the Hangzhou Tea Culture Expo continues to combine all the resources of tea culture to develop the economy of tea, to carry forward the tea culture and to develop and expand the tea tourism.

The expo, themed on “Beautiful Life, Fragrant Tea” and co-hosted by Hangzhou Government, China International Tea Culture Research Committee, Tea Science Society of China and Hangzhou Tea Culture Research Committee, will be held from March 28th until June 2018. The expo can be divided into three sections, for instance, Main Projects Section, Tea Culture Section and Counties Section, which are dedicated to 19 projects in total.

01 Main Projects Section (including five projects)

2018 Hangzhou Tea Culture Expo and Hangzhou Tea Festival Opening Ceremony

2018 Tea Day and Tea Tasting Activity

2018 Xihu Longjing King of Tea Frying Show

2018 Qinghefang Folk Tea Activities

G20 Hangzhou Tea Culture Tour

02 Tea Culture Section (including seven projects)

Longwu Tea Town Tea Competition

2018 West Lake Tea Show

Youth Tea League Tea Tasting Activity

2018 “House of Tea” Show

“My Teacup (Teapot) and Me” Essay Competition

Hangzhou Tea Culture LOMO Creative Art Activity

Teahouse Alliance 2018 National Teahouse Managers Seminar

03 Counties Section (including seven projects)

2018 Sage of Tea Activity

2018 Xiaoshan District Tea Art Activity

Jiande Bao Tea Cultural Tour Activity

2018 Qiandao Lake Tea Culture Experiencing Activity

2018 Xueshui Yunlu Leisure Tourist Activity

2018 Lin’an Tea Customs Cultural Tourist Activity

2018 Hangzhou Tea Culture Expo Closing Ceremony and Fuyang Anding Yunwu Tea Cultural Activity

Emphasizing “Special Features”

The tea expo is committed to acknowledging and sharing the long history and rich connotations of tea culture. For 13 years, the various projects of the expo have been widely recognized by the relevant markets and dedicated tourists, and this time, more attention will be paid to the innovations of the contents and form. For example, Hangzhou Tea Festival, derived from Xihu Longjing Tea Festival, highlights Hangzhou’s tea culture in a different light and stresses the importance of the arrival of Hangzhou’s spring tea season. It also lays emphasis on the integration of the main projects, melting tea into life, catering, performance and experience, which above all extends the development of the tea industry. For instance, the Tea Day, which introduces the tea to communities and schools, and the hundred-family banquet in the opening ceremony.

Emphasizing “Closeness to People”

The theme “Beautiful Life, Fragrant Tea” indicates that the various projects concentrate on the distribution of tea culture to the lives of citizens and tourists and through the colorful folk tea activities, the expo quickens the pace of tea into becoming a kind of lifestyle.

Emphasizing “Resources Integration”

This expo pays attention to the integration of resources, fully excavating the tea cultural resources of districts and counties (cities). Many of the activities themed on tea culture will be introduced by Xiaoshan District, Yuhang District, Fuyang District, Lin’an City, Tonglu County, Chun’an County and Jiande City, such as the 2018 Hangzhou Fuyang Anding Yunwu Tea Cultural Activity, Qiandao Lake Tea Cultural Experiencing Activity and so on.

The scale of the activities and the efforts of the extended products are far better than those of last year and therefore form a stronger tea culture atmosphere. The expo also lays emphasis on the combination of agriculture and tourism, creating the tea cultural tour products and introducing various distinctive tea culture experiencing itineraries, such as Tea Agriculture Green Life Family Experiencing Tour, which combines agriculture with tourism and, in doing so, promotes the integration of tea culture with tourism.