Tea is native to China.As early as in the 6th century A.D.,there werealready records of tea export.To the 17th century, tea had replaced silk and porcelainand became the largest quantity of export commodity of the Qing Dynasty.As a bridge connecting Europe and Asia,Russia then was not only a big teaconsumer, but also a country who regarded the resale of Chinese teato the European market as an important source of its national economy.Developed and led by Shanxi merchants,the Sino-Russian Tea Road, with the joint participation of businessmen and civilians along the line, flourished from the 17thcentury to the beginning of the 20thcentury, becoming another international business way to connect the Eurasian continent after the Silk Road.
"The Tea Road" is the "century artery" connecting China and Russia.It is both an economic channel starting with tea trade and an important cultural routefor communication between Chinese and Western civilizations.The Tea Road starts from the Wuyi Mountain area, Fujian Province, China,and ends in St. Petersburg, the capital of the former Russian Empire, passing through today's China, Mongolia and Russia.The Tea Road,running through China and several western countries for thousands of miles,has profoundly influenced the business, culture and lifestyle of all places along the way.
General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the strategic initiative of "One Belt and One Road",creating a new pattern of China's all-round opening-up.Within this framework, the historical and humanistic information carried by"the Tea Road" was imbued with important cultural values.It will inject new vitality to the further realization of cultural exchanges and mutual learning and economic interconnection of China, Mongolia and Russia,even of countries along the Sino-European route in the new era.
