Dating back to the 17th century, the tea road first appeared when merchants from China's Shanxi province transported tea products and other goods from South China to Mongolia and Russia, spanning more than 13,000 kilometers. The tea was then sold to countries of the European continent.

The journey began from Wuyishan, a city in Fujian province that is famous for its tea, passing through China, Mongolia and stretching all the way to Russian cities such as St Petersburg and Moscow.

In March, the tea road was enlisted into the tentative list of China World Heritage Site.

The forum aims to establish a platform for cities and scenic areas along the tea route to communicate with each other about marketing and building an international brand image of the tea route.

Keynote speakers from home and abroad delivered speeches on such topics as international promotion of the tea road as a culture heritage and history of Sino-Russian related to the tea road.

In a round-table discussion, guests exchanged views about the development and potential of the tea road’s tourism.