To celebrate International Tea Day and the inscription of China's traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Tea for Harmony events were held at the China Cultural Center in Moscow and the Russian State Children's Library on May 20 and 21.
The opening performances, West Lake Unchanged and Diaochan Worshipping the Moon, blended Yue Opera, folk music, tea art, calligraphy, and painting into an immersive experience, taking the audience on a journey through China's millennia-old aesthetic traditions. The guzheng solo Jasmine Fragrance, erhu solo Birds Singing in the Empty Mountain, and the tea-art folk Fishermen’s Song at Eventide were also performed.
An interactive session followed the performances, with guests brewing and tasting tea, listening to tea masters' explanations of tea varieties, origins, characteristics and brewing techniques, and appreciating the tea-whisking performance of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
The events were co-hosted by Network of International Culturalink Entities, the China Cultural Center in Moscow, and Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, and organized by the Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Center.
They vividly recreated classical Chinese literati living scenes and highlighted Chinese lifestyle aesthetics, serving as a platform for deepening mutual learning among civilizations and nurturing enduring friendship. The events injected new momentum into China-Russia relations and the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples in the new era.
