Leaders and delegates attending the event (Photo: TITC)

Giving the welcoming speech, Ambassador of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Wang Quan said, over four thousand years of history, the Chinese have used tea as both medicine and food. To this day, Chinese tea is extremely diverse and rich, and the tea making process is also very sophisticated. Different regions and ethnic groups have created many unique customs and ways of enjoying tea. Tea is an indispensable part of Chinese people's lives, a habit, a way of life. In parties with friends, meetings, receptions or major holidays, tea acts as a ritual, creating a diverse tea culture: tea rituals, tea drinking customs, tea art, tea cuisine, or tea ceremony.

In 2022, "Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" were inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, becoming a common treasure of all humanity.

Ambassador of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Wang Quan speaking at the event (Photo: TITC)

Tea has gone through the flow of history, crossed national borders and received the love of people around the globe, becoming one of the three main beverages in the world, is a bridge to help the people of China and the world get to know and learn about each other, so that cultures can exchange and learn, and at the same time become a common property of human civilization.

Ambassador of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Wang Quan stressed, China and Vietnam are two neighbouring countries, share many cultural values, and tea is one of those important cultural values. Today's event is a practical activity of cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and Vietnam. Guangxi has outstanding topographical features, rich cultural connotations, diverse tourism resources and convenient transportation conditions, is an important door of Chinese tourism, to welcome more Vietnamese friends to visit Guangxi and experience tourism in other locations.

VNAT’s Vice Chairman Ha Van Sieu speaking at the event (Photo: TITC)

Speaking at the event, VNAT’s Vice Chairman Ha Van Sieu indicated that the event “World Harmony Tea” and Workshop to promote cultural tourism of Guangxi, China, is an important occasion for the two neighbouring countries to together explore and honour the cultural and tourist beauty of Guangxi in particular and China in general. At the same time, it is an opportunity to tighten exchanges and cooperation between Vietnam and China in general, and Guangxi Province in particular, in the field of culture and tourism.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China signed a cultural and tourism cooperation plan for the period 2023 - 2027. VNAT also signed Memorandum of Understanding on tourism cooperation with 6 Chinese localities.

Regarding the tourism situation of the two countries recently, in 2019, China was the leading tourist source market to Vietnam with over 5.8 million visitor arrivals, accounting for about 30% of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam. At the same time, Vietnam was also China's second largest tourist source market. In 2023, Vietnam welcomed over 1.7 million Chinese visitor arrivals, recovering 30% compared to 2019. In the first 4 months of 2024, Vietnam welcomed nearly 1.25 million Chinese visitor arrivals, recovering more than 73% compared to the same period in 2019. Vietnam also sends many tourists to China. The tourism development potential of both sides is huge and needs to be exploited.

Overview of the event (Photo: TITC)

VNAT’s Vice Chairman Ha Van Sieu proposed, both sides need to continue to create a favourable environment so that the people of the two countries can easily experience and discover each other's beauty through tourism, creating conditions for tourism businesses of the two countries to promote cooperation and exchange visitors. Besides, strengthening cooperation, sharing information and experience in tourism promotion will help increase the effective marketing of tourist destinations of both countries. At the same time, it is an opportunity for Vietnamese tourism businesses to learn more deeply about the unique products and services of Guangxi, to work with Guangxi partners to build unique tourism programmes for Vietnamese tourists to Guangxi.

VNAT continues to promote cooperation and tourism-culture exchanges between Vietnam and China in general as well as Guangxi Province in particular to promote sustainable development of the tourism industry in the future, ready to create favourable conditions for the people of the two countries to experience and discover each other's beauty through tourism.

Deputy Director of Guangxi Department of Culture and Tourism, China Huang Deng Lin (Photo: TITC)

Deputy Director of Guangxi Department of Culture and Tourism, China Huang Deng Lin shared culture and tourism information of Guangxi Province, China.

China and Vietnam both have a long-standing tea culture, and each country's tea has its own characteristics, unique flavours, and colourful customs. Guangxi's emerald tea and jasmine tea are famous near and far, along with Vietnamese green tea and lotus tea which are also world famous. The culture and tourism industries of both sides have cooperated closely, actively created favourable policies, exchanged tourist sources, and mutually promoted tourism products to increase the two-way tourist flow.

At the event “World Harmony Tea” and Workshop, leaders, delegates and distinguished guests visited the exhibition of Guangxi tourism and culture pictures, enjoyed tea, watched the tourism promotion video "Magnificent Guangxi", special musical performances and listen to introductions to the tourism and cultural resources of Guangxi province.

A number of photos at the event:

VNAT’s Ha Van Sieu and delegates visiting exhibition space (Photo: TITC)

VNAT’s Ha Van Sieu and delegates enjoying tea (Photo: TITC)

Leaders and delegates taking souvenir photo (Photo: TITC)

Art performances at the event (Photo: TITC)

Tourism Information Technology Center